A man jailed on suspicion of murdering his pregnant wife told authorities he used an alias–the latest in a number of discrepancies he has offered since reporting his wife missing after a morning jog, police said Wednesday.
Mark Hacking volunteered the alias “Jonathan Long” when a jailer asked him, “Have you ever used another name–that could be for anything?” He did not say why he adopted the name or how he used it, and authorities did not ask, Salt Lake County Sgt. Rosie Rivera said.
Three days before Hacking reported his wife Lori Hacking missing July 19, police believe she discovered her husband had lied to her about being enrolled in a North Carolina medical school.
Police arrested Hacking on Monday on evidence including a bloody knife found in his bedroom, a discarded mattress and a reported psychiatric ward confession.
Hacking also allegedly told a “reliable” witness July 24 he had killed his wife as she slept and dumped her body in a trash bin.
That tip, coupled with another from a neighbor and other evidence, are leading officers to believe they will eventually find the remains of Lori Hacking in a county landfill.
Their search through 3,000 tons of trash was to resume Wednesday night with the help of cadaver dogs.
It would not be unusual for a defendant to volunteer an alias during a jail booking, Rivera said. Hacking was booked Monday in a mental health wing of the Salt Lake County jail.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and alBerto Trevino (atrevino@tribune.com)
