Son charged in former Mission woman's death

John Zsiray

Leader Staff

A teenager from Utah is being held in a Missoula jail on suspicion of the death of his mother, a former St. Ignatius resident.

Jeremy Jacob Hauck, 18, has been charged in Farmington, Utah with a felony murder charge for the death of his mother Laura Hauck, 51.

Laura Hauck's body was found by Bountiful law enforcement officials, who did a "welfare check" at the house she shared with Jeremy after friends became concerned about her whereabouts.

"Family members hadn't seen either of them since Friday [Aug. 4]. Laura also didn't show up to work on Monday," said Davis (Utah) County Deputy Attorney Steve Major.

According to Major when officers gained entry into the home they found a pool of blood and bloody drag marks on the floor which led to a chest-type freezer. They found the body in the freezer and frozen, and Major said it took three days to thaw the 51-year old woman out to do an autopsy to recover accurate identification.

"Officers were called out to do a welfare check and that is when they found Laura's body," said Major.

Evidence at the scene led them to suspect Jeremy Hauck. Major said that at first they weren't sure where to look for Jeremy but after obtaining credit card statements they were able to track him down. According to the statements they were able to pinpoint his general location to the Missoula area.

"The card companies wouldn't give us exact locations on where he was but told us the cities the card had been active in," said Major. "We knew that he had made several purchases with his credit card so we started calling around."

Detectives with the Bountiful (Utah) Police Department started calling hotels in the Missoula area with descriptions of Hauck. After calling several different hotels a desk clerk at the Super 8 Motel in Missoula recognized the description of Hauck.

"We got ahold of the Missoula Police Department and had them go by and check for a positive ID on Hauck," said Major. "They just waited outside for him and grabbed him when he came out."

When Hauck was taken into custody by the Missoula police a search was performed on his car, and officers to find a .22-caliber gun, 12-gauge shotgun, and a .223 assault rifle with three magazine clips, loaded with 30 rounds, and a knife, Major said.

"We {Davis County} are waiting for the Missoula County Attorney to find out if he is waiving or fighting extradition. We are hoping to find out [Tuesday] from Missoula County," Major said earlier this week.

The Bountiful Police Department had officers up in Missoula during Hauck's arraignment last week.

Court documents were submitted to Davis County charging Hauck with a first degree felony charge which is punishable by a term of 15 years to life in Utah. Hauck could be arraigned in Utah later this week, depending on his extradition.

"We do this all the time but it is really hard to do without being face to face. It is hard to work with a bunch of different people, going through all the government offices." said Major. "We haven't been able to do a lot from down here, we are pretty much in a holding pattern right now."

Hauck is being held on $300,000 bail in Missoula and awaiting extradition to Utah.

"It will be one of those cut and dry cases. We just have to get into the details and find out what drove this young man to murder," Major said.