The three-part Netflix docuseries Murder Among the Mormons examines the shocking Salt Lake City bombings that killed two people in 1985. The man responsible was Mark Hofmann, now 66, who was a member of the Mormon church. He planted the bombs to try and cover up the fact that he had forged early Mormon documents, among countless other notable documents. His first victim was Steve Christensen, who had reportedly threatened to expose Mark if he didn’t produce the Mormon documents he claimed to have. Mark also murdered Kathy Sheets, who was killed by the bomb that was intended for her husband, Gary, Christensen’s associate.
“The most important thing in my mind was to keep from being exposed as a fraud in front of my friends and family,” Mark wrote in his 1988 letter to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. “When I say this was the most important thing I mean it literally. I felt I would rather take human life or even my own life rather than to be exposed.” Mark intended to kill himself with a third bomb, but he survived the blast and was arrested for his crimes. So, where is Mark Hofmann now? Here’s what you need to know:
1. Mark Hofmann is spending the rest of his life in prison.
Mark was arrested in connection to the bombings in January 1986 and initially charged with 27 counts, including first-degree murder, constructing or possessing a bomb, theft by deception, and more. At first, Mark maintained his innocence, but he eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of theft by deception, according to AP. There was actually no trial. Mark avoided the possibility of the death penalty after pleading guilty to certain charges in a plea bargain. He was sentenced to 5 years to life, but the judge recommended that Mark spend the rest of his life in prison. Mark was initially taken to the Utah State Prison.
2. He tried to get revenge on the Board of Pardon members.
The Netflix series reveals that the parole board decided Mark will serve his entire life in prison after his confession. Mark George, the Salt Lake City chief investigator, claimed that Mark had approached other inmates about doing a “hit” on some of the Board of Pardon members. Mark denied involvement, but he was put on restriction after “sending threatening messages” to the Board of Pardons. “It was his intent to execute the Board of Pardon members and George Throckmorton, forensic document examiner,” Mark says in the docuseries.
3. Mark was hospitalized after taking sleeping pills.
While in prison, Mark unsuccessfully attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills he had gotten from other inmates. He was found in a comatose condition. Mark George says in the Netflix series that Mark’s arm was folded underneath him while he was unconscious, which cut off the blood supply to his arm. The injured arm is the one he used to forge documents.
4. He was transferred to a new prison in 2016.
Mark was moved to the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison in 2016, according to Salt Lake City’s Fox 13. “His institutional history is pretty clean. He doesn’t have any behaviors that would indicate he’d be a problem. For the time being, of course. We’ll look at it on a continual basis,” prison spokesman Steve Gehrke said at the time.
5. Mark is now divorced.
His wife, Dorie, filed for divorce in 1987. Dorie explained in Murder Among the Mormons that Mark “banned” her from visiting him after she filed for divorce. She hasn’t seen him since 1987. Mark did not respond to requests to be interviewed for Murder Among the Mormons.