This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It has been a grueling and painful year for me since Mark killed Lori and their unborn child last July, and there are days when I still can't believe it's true.
Everything about this bizarre tragedy has devastated me; I loved that young man as if he were my own son so his betrayal is profound. The dark cloud that hangs over my head never dissipates because the consequences of Mark's decision to kill his wife and baby are fixed and permanent. Although he had the power to terminate two lives, it is beyond his power to restore them. Justice demands that his life remain as irrevocably altered as Lori's, his child's and mine are.
I'm relieved that Mark finally entered a guilty plea and that all court proceedings are now complete. I do not wish for bad things to happen to him. I hope he uses his life in prison to accomplish something redemptive for himself and all the good he can for others; he certainly ought to finish college if he is able to.
Regardless of how exemplary a prisoner he may be or become, however, it doesn't alter the chilling fact that he killed my daughter and grandchild and then threw them in the trash with the intent that they never be found and I never know what happened to them. Those acts constitute the very epitome of depraved indifference.
Again, I thank the media and people everywhere for their love, their support, their prayers offered on my behalf, and their generosity to Lori's scholarship fund; and I especially extend my heartfelt gratitude to all those who helped in the search for Lori.