Green copperas, said the front of the box one of the inks listed in an old book police had taken from Hofmanns basement. Sure enough, Olds "discovered" a piece of parchment gummed into the Bible, with Egyptian-looking scribbles on it. Pediatricians treat children, infants, and . A police officer searches Mark Hofmanns car after a bomb exploded, injuring Hofmann on Oct. 16, 1985. Hofmann took his family to stay with his parents that night, telling them it was for their safety because a business associate of his had been killed. One of Utah's most infamous criminals kissed his children while they slept in their bedrooms the night before he donned a letterman's jacket and carried a package into the Judge Building in downtown Salt Lake City and took the elevator to the sixth floor. I am only interested in a persons character, not their colour, and your being black is of no significance whatsoever to the matter in question, which YOU turned into an identity issue, thus self-victimising. he asked. Mark's parents, Lucille Sears Hofmann and William Hofmann, were horrified that his kids had a storybook with dinosaurs, which they considered too evolution-friendly Book available in stores and online 3. Well yes! https://t.co/uxD6Jp1O6U, Benjamin Park (@BenjaminEPark) February 26, 2021. The one-page Oath had been printed in 1639, the first document to be printed in Britain's American colonies, but only about fifty copies had been made, and none of them were extant. [20], In 1983, Hofmann bypassed the LDS Church's historical department and sold to Hinckley an 1825 Smith holograph purporting to confirm that Smith had been treasure hunting and practicing magic five years after his First Vision. [5]:298 Salt Lake County District Attorney's investigator Michael George believed that, after Hofmann had successfully forged the blessing, his ultimate goal was to create the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, which he could have filled with inconsistencies and errors, sell them "to the church to be hidden away" and then as he had done often with embarrassing documents "make sure its contents were made public. Although police quickly focused on Hofmann as the suspect in the bombings, some of his business associates went into hiding, fearing they might also become victims. Mark Hofmann was the mastermind behind deadly bombings that served as the focal point of the new Netflix docuseries, Murder Among the Mormons. "I felt something was off, but I didn't know what it was.". What if Olds had questioned her husband about his suspicious dealings? I have enjoyed the ongoing transition of this site but finally said something because Ive just come to dislike Marcus ongoing commentary and urge to mansplain to everyone. Hofmann also traded in many legitimate historical documents acquired from rare book sellers and collectors. They have done the best they can with where they are, and I can now give them true love and compassion," says Olds, who works as a life coach and hypnotherapist. ", Olds wanted to start healing other people, says longtime friend Sylvia Gregerson, who met the bomber's wife after the crimes, "to try and heal herself.". Mark Hoffman Chief Research Information Officer, Children's Mercy Research Professor - Pediatrics, Biomedical and Health Informatics UMKC (volunteer) Research Professor - Pediatrics - KU Medical . At that time, they were all five and under. "I had to learn how to accept and love myself enough to keep a boundary, rather than shrinking in fear of authoritarian dictates, or passively going along with situations in which I saw no choice," she says. Mark Hofmann, the subject of Netflix 's new documentary, Murder Among the Mormons, was a prolific, master forger turned bomber who was convicted of killing two people in Salt Lake City . I am currently working as a children's book author/illustrator, editorial illustrator, and fine artist. [p] Later the same day, a second bomb killed Kathy Sheets, the wife of Christensen's former employer. In January1987, Hofmann pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, one count of theft by deception for forging the Salamander Letter, and one count of fraud for the bogus sale of the McLellin collection. [e][f] According to Richard and Joan Ostling, Hofmann was by this time a "closet apostate" motivated not only by greed but also by "the desire to embarrass the church by undermining church history". [c] [5] : 58 Dorie Olds Hofmann filed for divorce in 1987, two years after Hofmann's crimes came to light, and became co-founder of a holistic medicine company. Hofmann agreed to confess his forgeries in open court, in return for which prosecutors in Utah and New York dropped additional charges against him. 30 years after Mormon bombings, Mark Hofmann's ex-wife finds peace and 30 years after fatal bombings, Dorie Olds manages to leave the past behind. Powered by. Direct supervision has been shown in other correctional settings to increase the safety of facilities and reduce violent incidents., Murder Among the Mormons: TV Review https://t.co/4HRXTB4jpn, The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 2, 2021. "[14]:254 Robert Lindsey has also suggested that Hofmann "stimulated a burst of historical inquiry regarding Joseph Smith's youthful enthusiasm for magic [that] did not wither after his conviction". I am not ashamed to admit that we were victimized. On March 3, the streaming giant debuted Murder Among the Mormons, a three-part series offering new interviews with victims and their families and more insight into how Mark Hofmann accommodated within his own soul a thieving terrorist and a respected husband and father of four. Proper disagreement is through proper that is, substantive argument, not epithet (racist; mansplaining; vomit work cloud (whatever that is), etc. A fifth indictment, containing an additional five counts of theft by deception, was added later in January. As the familys primary caregiver, Dorie didnt want their lives to be anything but stereotypical, so she tried maintaining that as much as possible. [5]:377 Hofmann also forged a previously unknown poem in the hand of Emily Dickinson. Mark Hofmann. READ NEXT: Dorie Olds Now: Where Is Mark Hofmanns Ex-Wife Today in 2021? I felt I would rather take human life or even my own life rather than to be exposed.. Mark Hofmann was the mastermind behind deadly bombings that served as the focal point of the new Netflix docuseries, "Murder Among the Mormons." In True Crime Series 'Murder Among the Mormons,' LDS Church Reckons Dr. Mark A. Hoffman is a Pediatrician in Los Angeles, CA. In a forged cover letter, purportedly written by Thomas Bullock and dated January 27, 1865, Bullock chastises Young for having all copies of the blessing destroyed. Where Is Mark Hofmann Now? He Was Convicted of Murder Who is Mark Hofmann's ex-wife Doralee Olds Hofmann? - The Sun By age 24, his interest had shifted from U.S. coins to old Mormon money, which along with his coin collection he sold a year later and decided to forge for a living. Mark Hofmann: The true story of bomber from Murder Among the Mormons "During our nine-year marriage, he created historical documents and signatures, coins, antique Mormon money and much more selling them for millions of dollars.". Hofmann pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated murder in January 1987, avoiding the death penalty in exchange for revealing information on his forgery techniques and knowledge of Mormon history. In 1988, Olds divorced Hofmann, who pleaded guilty to murdering Christensen and Sheets as well as forging dozens of documents and is incarcerated for life at the Utah State Prison. At the time, Hofmann was a well-known figure in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he would soon become known to a much wider audience as a murderer in the Mormon church. Meantime, a deal with the Library of Congress to buy his rarest find the early 17th century Oath of a Freeman for $1.5 million didnt pan out. NU47OE000105 (HOFFMAN, MARK A.) Olds went into the hallway for a moment of prayerful silence. Frannie, thanks for your message. That October morning By 1985, Hofmann had gotten himself into a financial tangle and needed a way out or at least buy some time. Mark William Hofmann (born December 7, 1954) is an American counterfeiter, forger, and convicted murderer. Within the hour the board, citing Hofmann's "callous disregard for human life", decided that he would indeed spend the remainder of his "natural life in prison". She felt largely alone, rejected by many, including her in-laws and some of her own family members. Some of his forgeries were accepted by scholars for years, and an unknown number of them may still be in circulation. In the end, his goal was to save his reputation, he wrote. Catch the stream. Here you have a nice plea bargain. The five-years-to-life sentence was the minimum possible under Utah sentencing guidelines of the time; changes to sentencing guidelines have since increased the minimum sentence for murder to 15 years to life. Mark Hoffman Systems and methods are provided for facilitating the electronic collection and dissemination of newborn screening results to identified and/or default recipients of the results. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. On one side was Terri Christensen, widow of the businessman, who was murdered Oct. 15, 1985. .Officers and a dog check a parking lot during the Tuesday, Oct. 18, 1985, funeral of Kathy Sheets, who died in bomb blast. Mark Hoffman, PhD Research Chief Research Information Officer Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; Research Professor of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine View My Researcher Network Profile Areas of Interest Research You need to dial this back right now. Utah Department of Corrections She was very friendly when we did things socially [as couples] sometimes," Bench recalls. Hofmann would also age his papers by putting them in a fish tank, along with a little toy train transformer. The first two bombs killed two people on October 15, 1985. "It is where she always wanted to be," McNeil says, "but didn't know it was possible.". He was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Until next time, cheers. Undercurrents On the surface, Dorie Olds' childhood in Salt Lake City's Sugar House neighborhood seemed fairly typical for Utah Mormons. But to prove forgery they had to be able to duplicate these subtle mistakes. When I say this was the most important thing I mean it literally. Steven Christensen was the son of a locally prominent clothier, On the afternoon following the bombings, Hofmann met with LDS Church apostle, "The massive overdose of antidepressants he took soon after Dorie Olds filed for divorce [in 1987] left him lying unconscious for twelve hours on his prison cot with his right arm trapped under him. She believed he was, indeed, a liar and a cheat. In the early parts of Murder Among the Mormons, Hofmann is depicted as a devout Mormon. Even though it would have solved all the money problems Mark had left their family in, she refused to put her children through it again. Mrs Ms mother is black, her father white, hence she is dual heritage, which is not a term of abuse nor incorrect, regardless of whether the subject describes themselves as black or white (or biracial). 5. Today, Hofmann is serving a life sentence in prison in Utah. Over the years, he writes articles on cinema - his second passion - as well as self-taught scripts. Eventually, though, as she couldnt handle everything by herself, Dorie had to farm the youngest ones to relatives. Chief investigator Jim Bell said, "They're hiding something; the church is doing everything it can to make this as difficult as possible. The hardest mystery to crack was the ink. Twice a week, she went to see her husband in prison once alone and once with their kids. The forgery was a letter complete with an 1828, For instance, Hofmann paid US$22,500 for a first edition of, There actually were two surviving collections of McLellin papers, neither of which Hofmann knew of. Olds, too, has regained and even deepened her Mormon faith. "I always liked Dorie. There was at least one polygamist in the family Marks grandfather. The reach of his forgeries from Emily Dickinson to Mark Twain, George Washington to Joseph Smith and the cunning with which he tricked a nations document collectors continue to intrigue authors and investigators. He estimated that he forged hundreds of documents with at least 86 signatures. Hofmann hinted that the McLellin collection would provide revelations unfavorable to the LDS Church. Mark Hofmann - Wikipedia He violated his religions ban on alcohol at least once drinking hard liquor with a pal and promptly throwing up. Utah Department of CorrectionsMark Hofmanns prison record. One CAN criticize people who arent white without being racist, but youre demonstrating to everyone that is not what you are doing. She does recall, however, a chilling moment when his sister asked: "Why do you want to marry him? 30 years after Mormon bombings, Mark Hofmann's ex-wife finds peace and The model is shown to reduce violence in prison, the DOC said. The fact that Hofmann got off with a plea bargain instead of going to trial, where he would likely have faced the death penalty if found guilty, was quite puzzling to a reporter from the Los Angeles Times, who wrote, "In any other state, you'd see this thing go on trial, because that's how prosecutors reputations are made. All four of Mark Hofmanns children prefer to stay away from the media and the spotlight. The change was part a routine housing evaluation . The forearm is withered almost to the bone. Hofmann is serving a life sentence for two murders and other crimes that are explored in the Netflix docuseries Murder Among The Mormons. Netflix Solemnly Dishes on the Con Man and Bomber(Murder Among the Mormons, Netflix). The forger had promised various buyers and pocketed more than $100,000 from each a collection of journals and letters from an early Mormon apostate, William E. McLellin. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 7, 1954, Mark William Hofmann was the second of three children and the only son in a strict and religious household. The third victim, injured but still alive, was Mark Hofmann, a man unknown to most Salt Lakers but a minor celebrity among Latter-day Saint historians and collectors. If the dictionary definition of racisms not what racism is, what is it? Stay-at-home mom, who baked bread and quilted. The Savior was victimized. Mark Hofmann was wheeled to court and couldnt hear the judge because of eardrum damage on Nov. 1, 1985. "He set me up. News accounts reported the night of the murders that an eyewitness had a good look at the person who delivered the Christensen bomb, including a description of the letter jacket Hofmann wore. The bomb that killed Christensen was to take the pressure off two fraud schemes he had involved Christensen in, he wrote. One of Utahs most infamous criminals kissed his children while they slept in their bedrooms the night before he donned a lettermans jacket and carried a package into the Judge Building in downtown Salt Lake City and took the elevator to the sixth floor. Although Mark was secretly agnostic and betrayed his church, he was wearing a Mormon temple garment when he accidentally bombed his own car. After all, Dorie still supported him, unable to believe that he was a cold-blooded killer. [5]:95,98, In addition to documents from Mormon history, Hofmann also forged and sold signatures of many famous non-Mormons, including George Washington, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Daniel Boone, John Brown, Andrew Jackson, Mark Twain, Nathan Hale, John Hancock, Francis Scott Key, Abraham Lincoln, John Milton, Paul Revere, Myles Standish, and Button Gwinnett, whose signature was the rarest, and therefore the most valuable, of any signer of the Declaration of Independence. She believes that her mother didn't really want her. As far back as I can remember I have liked to impress people through my deceptions, he wrote. Hofmann injured himself with a third bomb. The renovation included new safety and security additions that were planned for Utahs new state prison at the time, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Hofmann wrote that some of his earliest memories are of doing card tricks and magic. DORALEE Olds was married to Mark Hofmann from 1979 to 1987. Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. You can watch Murder Among the Mormons on Netflix now. Because the letters had been authenticated by different experts, the inconsistencies had earlier escaped detection. Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times. "Why you of all people?" Read our. Marc Hoffmann - IMDb Mark Hofmann, a reputed trader of documents and artifacts within the church, turned out to be the one whod planted the bombs in an attempt to hide his forgeries. In August1987, the sensationalist aspects of the Hofmann case led apostle Dallin H. Oaks to believe that Mormons had witnessed "some of the most intense LDS Church-bashing since the turn of the [20th] century. For years, it turned out, Hofmann had been producing phony signatures and documents and photos and coins, successfully convincing handwriting experts and forgery detection machines that all of it was authentic. After all, Dorie still supported him, unable to believe that he was a cold-blooded killer. If I am mansplaining are you not blacksplaining? Dates 1984 Creator Hofmann, Mark (Person) Conditions Governing Access One of his forgeries involved a vacuum cleaner used to suck paint to the back side of a document to mimic what happens naturally over time. You also called a woman who has called herself a black woman a dual race which isnt a thing., Dual heritage: the fact of having parents from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. "When I first met Dorie, she was very mousy," McNeil says. Two Mormon wives sat on opposite sides of the Salt Lake City courtroom, staring intently at images on a screen as a witness described Steve Christensen's body after a pipe bomb shredded it. He promised investors high returns on their investments in rare documents but took their money to repay earlier investors. She spoke about her life experience Thursday October 8, 2015. The forgiveness story missing from Netflix's 'Murder Among the Mormons All rights reserved. Well look at it on a continual basis, Gehrke said in 2016. [5]:11819, After the letter had been purchased for the church and became public knowledge, LDS Church apostle Dallin H. Oaks asserted to Mormon educators that the words "white salamander" could be reconciled with Smith's Angel Moroni because, in the 1820s, the word salamander might also refer to a mythical being thought to be able to live in fire, and a "being that is able to live in fire is a good approximation of the description Joseph Smith gave of the Angel Moroni. Mark Hoffman, PhD Chief Research Information Officer Meet Dr. Hoffman Jeanne James, MD, MBA, FAAP Chair Pediatrics Meet Dr. James J. Steven Leeder, PharmD, PhD Deputy Director, The CMRI, Associate Chair-Research, Department of Pediatrics Meet Dr. Leeder Robert H. Lane, MD, MS Physician-in-Chief Meet Dr. Lane Shawn D. St. Peter, MD As Mark Hofmann serves out the remainder of his life in a Utah prison, his ex-wife, Dorie Olds, has moved on. In the end, of course, Hofmann did get caught because of the murders, but also because of his mistakes. Document examiner George Throckmorton analyzed several Hofmann documents that had previously been deemed authentic and determined they were forgeries. [a][5]:41[6] He was a below-average high school student, but had many hobbies including stage magic, electronics, chemistry, and stamp and coin collecting. He doesnt have any behaviors that would indicate hed be a problem. She found healing for herself through hypnosis, she says, and has channeled her. Hofmann wrote a letter to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole in 1988 saying childish games intending to trick people fueled the fire for what became the master forgery of Mormon documents. Within a short time of the find, Hofmann was photographed gave the document later determined to be a forgery to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for $20,000 worth of items. Hofmann excitedly identified it as a copy of the so-called "Anthon Transcript," with hieroglyphic markings that LDS Church founder Joseph Smith said he copied from gold plates in the 1820s. But in the letter, he traces his interest in deception back to his childhood. The youngest was born after Mark had been charged and arrested with fraud, theft, and murder. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. Dorie Olds is the ex-wife of Mormon bomber Mark Hofmann, who killed two people on Oct. 15, 1985.