Of their new Netflix docuseries, Homicide Among the many Mormons, filmmakers Jared Hess and Tyler Measom recount the 1985 Salt Lake Metropolis bombings, together with their influence on the Mormon Church and the involvement of doc vendor Mark Hofmann, who begins the collection—and the case—as a sufferer, earlier than rising as its prime suspect.
On October 15, 1985, twin bombings within the Salt Lake Metropolis space killed Steven Christensen and Kathleen Sheets. The explosive gadgets have been pipe bombs delivered in a field to Christensen’s workplace and Sheets’ entrance door. Christensen was a paperwork collector. Sheets was the spouse of Christensen’s former enterprise affiliate.
The information studies on the time speculated about “disgruntled buyers,” monetary dealings that will have led somebody to assassinate each Christensen and Sheets. It quickly got here to gentle that each had been concerned with doc dealings—significantly the Salamander Letter, a controversial doc that was bought by Christensen and given to the Mormon Church. It was believed Christensen was within the course of of shopping for one other doc much more damaging to the Church.
Anybody concerned with Mormon doc enterprise now seemed like a possible goal for future killings. The following day, on October 16, the doc vendor Mark Hofmann, who had discovered each the Salamander Letter and this new assortment of paperwork—referred to as the “McLellin Assortment”—was driving his Toyota MR2 when the automotive exploded. Hofmann survived.
However the third bombing sufferer quickly turned the case’s main suspect. After a witness recognized a jacket worn by the Christensen bomber—and after an affiliate of Hofmann acknowledged the merchandise because the doc vendor’s—police knocked on Hofmann’s door. The police discovered the jacket, however no proof of bombing provides. They did discover paperwork and monetary data which revealed Hofmann was in critical debt and ready on massive doc payoffs. Later, police discovered a doc signed by “Mike Hansen,” an obvious alias for Hofmann, who was now believed to be utilizing a company to forge a few of his acquired historic paperwork. The invention marked the start of the top for Hofmann.
