Mark William Hofmann
A summary from Jon Krakauer’s “Under The Banner of Heaven: A true story of violent faith.”
In 1979, Hofmann announced he had discovered a document written in 1828 by a close associate of Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of the Latter-day Saints. According to an eminent religious scholar who examined the document,1Anthon Transcript forgery:
The document seemed to be the transcript that Smith’s scribe Martin Harris had presented to Charles Anthon, a Columbia classics professor, in 1828. According to the Mormon scripture Joseph Smith–History, the transcript and its unusual reformed Egyptian characters were copied by Smith from the golden plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon. known as the Anthon Transcript, it appeared to confirm the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. The LDS Church purchased the document from Hofmann for $20,000.In fact, Hofmann had meticulously fabricated the Anthon Transcript in his suburban Utah home; it was a brilliant forgery. He began forging hundreds of other historically noteworthy documents soon thereafter. Along the way he discovered that the LDS leadership would pay even more for documents that impugned the credibility of Smith and the LDS Church, in order to keep them from public view. He had discovered an illegal path to great wealth.
Hofmann got greedy, however, and took advance payment of $150,0002In 2009, authentic papers from William McLellin, which Hofmann had planned to forge, surfaced and are in the archives of the LDS Church. Mark Hofmann had previously claimed he had found the McLellin papers. He did not produce the collection for any of his investors and could not do so because they did not actually exist at the time. During the fall of 1985 increasing pressure was brought to bear on him to repay the money that a wealthy church member had advanced or to produce the collection. for a large collection documents before he’d gotten around to fabricating them, and when he failed to deliver the documents by the promised date, his scam began to unravel. In a desperate attempt to buy himself more time, he murdered two blameless Saints — Steve Christensen and Kathy Sheets — with pipe bombs, but the diversionary tactic failed. Hofmann was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
Mark Hofmann and the Mormon Murders:
Unraveling the Dark Saga of a Master Forger
Unveiling the Enigma of Mark Hofmann
Step into the shadowy world of deception and intrigue as we unravel the chilling tale of Mark Hofmann, a master forger whose name sends shivers down the spine of criminal historians. Hofmann’s story is a rollercoaster ride of deceit, betrayal, and unspeakable violence, from the quiet streets of Salt Lake City, Utah, to the hallowed halls of the Church of Latter-day Saints.
Renowned for his unparalleled skill in the art of forgery, Mark Hofmann’s tale is a cautionary reminder of the dangers lurking beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary lives. With each meticulously crafted document, Hofmann wove a tangled web of lies and half-truths, deceiving even the most discerning experts and scholars.3The Lies Got Bigger … And More Dangerous.
Hofmann was, of course, not the type to be satisfied jerking around a whole religion. He was also a master at forging signatures, and he used these skills to fake the John Hancock of John Hancock, as well as those of George Washington, Mark Twain, Abe Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, and essentially every name you’d see while leafing through a middle school history textbook. But behind the facade of artistic genius lay a mind teeming with darkness, a thirst for power and recognition that would ultimately lead to a trail of destruction in its wake. This study of the man behind the infamous “Mormon Murders” is a journey into the psyche of a man whose name will forever be synonymous with deception and death.
The Rise of a Master Forger
Mark Hofmann is a figure whose talents and ambitions would eventually shape the course of criminal history. Born on December 7, 1954, amidst the serene landscapes of Salt Lake City, Utah, Hofmann’s childhood was cloaked in the shadows of secrecy and intrigue. From an early age,4Hofmann’s early forgery career was almost exclusively in coins and rare Mormon currency and he likely created hundreds of forgeries that are still in circulation today. he displayed an uncanny knack for deception, a gift that would soon blossom into something far more sinister.
Fascinated by the rich tapestry of the Latter-Day Saint movement, Hofmann found himself drawn to the mystique of religious history and its untold secrets. It was during this time that he stumbled upon the legend of the Anthon Transcript, a purported ancient document containing characters from the golden plates that Joseph Smith claimed to have translated. Inspired by the allure of this historical enigma, Hofmann embarked on what would become his first major forgery, meticulously crafting a fake version of the Anthon Transcript.
Little did he know that this initial foray into forgery would serve as the catalyst for his descent into the world of deceit and deception. With a keen eye for detail and a steady hand, Hofmann expertly replicated the characters and symbols purportedly found on the golden plates, weaving an intricate web of deception that would ultimately ensnare even the most astute scholars and collectors. As Hofmann’s skills evolved and his confidence grew, so too did his ambitions, propelling him into a realm where the lines between truth and fiction blurred beyond recognition.
With the success of his first forgery, Hofmann’s thirst for notoriety and recognition only intensified, driving him to push the boundaries of his craft even further. Armed with a newfound sense of invincibility, he embarked on a spree of increasingly audacious forgeries, each one more elaborate and daring than the last. Yet, with each forgery, the stakes grew higher, and the risk of exposure loomed ever larger on the horizon.
The Anthon Transcript … When Mark Hofmann Brought a ‘Lost’ Mormon Document to Church Elders in 1980, He Was Embraced as a Hero.
A. J. Simmonds remembers the young man coming to his office. It was a warm April in 1980, what is known in Mormon country as an open spring, when a returned Mormon missionary marched through the doors of the archives at Utah State University. The archives are a peaceful place, lit by a huge picture window with a view of the city of Logan below. Simmonds looked up at the young man; he noticed a worn Bible tucked under his arm.
Mark Hofmann sat down in Simmonds’ cramped cubicle and produced the old Bible; then he produced something else. It was a sheet of yellowed, antique paper, folded twice and stuck together along the open edge with a tarlike glue. The archivist took the sheet and ran his fingers along the glue. It felt like old rubber bands.
Together the two men tried to separate the pages with Toluene, a solvent. Nothing. Then Simmonds took a scalpel, slowly cut through the fold, and peeled open the sheet. Bending his head down, he peeped at the writing on the page. The first character was an Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol. Simmonds went a little breathless. It looked like the Anthon Transcript.
If Simmonds was right, Hofmann had just found one of the most tantalizing lost documents in the history of the Mormon Church. The church faithful believe that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon by translating “reformed” Egyptian characters from golden plates that were delivered to him by an angel. Simmonds, who is not a Mormon, finds this account somewhat hilarious. Still, there was a famous early episode in which Joseph Smith copied on paper what he said were characters from the golden plates. In the late 1820s, the sheet was taken to New York, where it was examined by a Columbia University professor, Charles Anthon. No one had seen it since.
Canonized Lies About Charles Anthon: The inside story of Martin Harris’s visit to Charles Anthon.
In the wake of Hofmann’s deception, a question is still debated regarding the highest authorities in the LDS church…
From the home page of Rodger Young:
Mormon Apostle Bruce R. McConkie proclaimed that church leaders have the gift of discernment: “…the gift of the discerning of spirits is poured out upon presiding officials in God’s kingdom; they have it given to them to discern all gifts and all spirits, lest any come among the saints and practice deception…” If this had been true of the church’s leaders, they would have seen the character of Hofmann’s deception. Yet despite repeated meetings with him, none of them saw through it, and the chain of events led to the murder of two persons. Hofmann even met with Apostle Dallin Oaks just hours after Hofmann killed Steven Christensen and Kathleen Sheets, and Oaks still believed Hofmann was an honest friend.
The apostles of the church were therefore deceived regarding Mark Hofmann’s character and his forged documents. These were not just any historical documents–they were documents dealing with the doctrines and “revelations” foundational to Mormonism (but, of course, not foundational to genuine Christianity). Since Mormon leaders were fundamentally wrong and deceived regarding the character of Mark Hofmann and his documents that dealt with the basis of their church, could they also be fundamentally wrong and deceived about Joseph Smith’s character and his documents?
Deception and Betrayal: The Forgery Scheme Unravels
As Hofmann’s forgeries continued to circulate among collectors and scholars, the intrigue surrounding his creations reached a fever pitch.5Hofmann’s forgeries fooled historians, collectors, and museums.
Because the forgeries are so difficult to detect, and he also bought and sold real documents as a cover, historians are still struggling to determine which documents out in the world are genuine and which are fakes. While Hofmann has been in prison since 1987, experts believe there may be many of is forgeries still in private collections and even on display as genuine, muddying the waters of history. With each meticulously crafted document, he spun elaborate tales of historical significance, tantalizing those eager to unearth new revelations about the origins of the Latter-Day Saint movement. Hofmann’s adept manipulation of religious history and his uncanny ability to replicate aged documents with astonishing precision earned him accolades and admiration within the Mormon community and beyond.
Yet, as Hofmann’s fame ascended to new heights, so too did the skepticism surrounding the authenticity of his works. In 1985, cracks began to form in the facade of his carefully constructed deception. Rumors swirled, casting doubt on the veracity of several of his most prized creations. With whispers of forgery growing louder, law enforcement agencies and forensic experts launched investigations aimed at unraveling the truth behind Hofmann’s elaborate schemes.
The Salamander Letter
Mark Hofmann’s forgery of the infamous Salamander Letter stands as a pivotal moment in his descent into deception and violence. The letter, purportedly penned by Martin Harris, a key figure in the early days of the Mormon Church, described a fantastical encounter with a magical salamander rather than the angel Moroni, as claimed in official church history. For Hofmann, the creation of the Salamander Letter represented a calculated attempt to sow doubt and confusion within the Mormon community, exploiting existing tensions surrounding the origins of the faith.
Mormon critic Jerald Tanner had cast doubt on the authenticity of the Salamander Letter as early as 1984, questioning its provenance and raising concerns about its legitimacy. Tanner’s skepticism struck at the heart of Hofmann’s carefully constructed web of deception, threatening to expose the truth behind his elaborate forgeries and dismantle the illusions upon which his reputation rested. Faced with the prospect of exposure and ruin, Hofmann may have seen the creation of the Salamander Letter as the “last straw,” driving him to desperate measures to preserve his carefully constructed facade.
Mormon critic Jerald Tanner doubted the Salamander’s authenticity.
When Mark Hofmann came on the scene, Jerald was one of the very few who viewed him with skepticism … In November of 1983, Jerald heard that one of those documents was a letter written in 1830 by Book of Mormon witness Martin Harris. The letter said that Joseph Smith received a visitation from a spirit that “transfigured himself from a white salamander.” Hence it came to be known as the White Salamander letter.
Jerald had received some extracts from the Harris letter and was “preparing to print them in the March 1984 issue” of their newsletter the Salt Lake City Messenger. However, prior to going to press, Jerald came across evidence that caused him to conclude that the letter could be a forgery. The original story was scrapped. Instead the March 1984 issue ran an article titled “Is it Authentic?”
By August of that same year Jerald was convinced “that the evidence against the Salamander letter cast a real shadow of doubt on all the important discoveries Mark Hofmann had made since 1980.” In August of 1984, Jerald published The Money-Digging Letters, and the findings were picked up by the Los Angeles Times a couple of days later. The Deseret News also reported that the Tanners were suspicious of the letter. However, in April 1985, the Deseret News published an article that claimed that the 1830 Harris letter had been authenticated by a document examiner. Two Mormon scholars also confirmed the document’s authenticity.
You have to appreciate the irony. On one hand, there are the document experts, Mormon Church historians, and even the LDS Church itself, supporting the authenticity of a document that portrays the founder of Mormonism as a believer in folk magic. On the other hand, here is Jerald Tanner insisting that something is wrong with their conclusion.
It is evident that Hofmann viewed the planting of the two bombs in Salt Lake City as a desperate attempt to divert attention away from his crimes and create chaos and confusion in the aftermath of Tanner’s scrutiny of the Salamander Letter. By orchestrating a series of deadly explosions, Hofmann sought to cast himself as a victim of persecution, deflecting suspicion and buying himself time to cover his tracks and evade capture. However, this brazen act of violence would ultimately mark the beginning of the end for Hofmann, leading to his eventual apprehension and the unraveling of his web of lies
How Two Document Examiners Found the Salamander Forgeries:
George Throckmorton was a document expert at the Utah attorney general’s office. He was never asked to help at first so he started doing his own research on this high profile case and was approached by a professor of church history. He began to see all the reports from other experts and found that the letter had never been dated. Only two main parts of it had been thoroughly examined- the ink and the paper. The paper used was 100% rag paper and the ink was an iron gallotannic composition. Both of these were used in the 19th century when the letter was supposedly written. Mark Hofmann could have written on old paper with iron gallotannic ink.
George went to the county office and explained how just the old paper and old ink didn’t prove much. He then got started with more in-depth research with William Flynn, another document examiner. Experts were skeptical that they’d find anything because the letter had already been authenticated by many experts and the FBI lab in Washington D.C. even said it was the real deal.
The two men began examining the documents upon a closer look under the microscope, George examined that there was a cracking pattern in the ink. Upon further research, they figured out that all of the documents that Mark Hoffman “found” had these same, microscopic cracked patterns in the ink. Then they found a seemingly insignificant note from the church’s early history. But it had Joseph Smith’s signature on it which increased the value of this note. On examining the text on this note they found that the text on the front had no cracking. But Joseph Smith’s signature on the back had the same cracking pattern as the rest of Mark’s “found” documents. George Throckmorton and William Flynn figured that Mark must have signed the back of this note to increase its value.
Eventually, they found the exact formula for 19th Century iron gallotannic ink that Mark Hoffman had used. They were missing gum arabic in their ink. When they tried to duplicate Mark’s techniques again, they used the same ink and exposed it to sodium hydroxide. The ink then showed the exact same cracking pattern that it did in Mark Hofmann’s documents. The gum arabic used in Mark Hofmann’s ink underwent a dramatic change when exposed to the sodium chloride. It caused the gum to go from a thin fluid to a brittle material that would crack when dried quickly.
The revelation of Hofmann’s deceit sent shockwaves rippling through the Mormon community and beyond. As the full extent of his forgeries came to light, Hofmann was thrust into the spotlight of public scrutiny and condemnation. The once-revered figure was now viewed with suspicion and mistrust, his legacy tarnished by the revelations of his fraudulent activities. Yet, even as his empire of lies crumbled around him, Hofmann remained defiant, clinging to the remnants of his shattered illusions as the walls of deception closed in around him.
The Descent into Darkness: Murder in Salt Lake City
With his carefully crafted facade crumbling around him, Mark Hofmann descended into darkness, driven by a desperate desire to preserve his carefully constructed illusions at any cost. As whispers of forgery and deceit grew louder, Hofmann’s mind became consumed by a chilling determination to silence his critics and erase any trace of his crimes. In a calculated bid to evade exposure and ruin, he turned to the most sinister of tactics: violence and murder.
The first victim of Hofmann’s deadly spree was Steven Christensen, a prominent figure in the Mormon community and one of Hofmann’s former associates. On the fateful day of October 15, 1985, Christensen fell victim to a powerful explosion that ripped through his office, shattering the tranquility of Salt Lake City and sending shockwaves reverberating throughout the community. The devastation left in the wake of the blast served as a grim harbinger of the terror yet to come.
Just ninety minutes later, another bomb tore through the peaceful streets of Salt Lake City, claiming the life of Kathleen Sheets, the wife of Christensen’s former business partner. The tragic loss of Sheets sent shockwaves of grief and disbelief rippling through the community, as law enforcement agencies scrambled to comprehend the sinister motives behind the deadly attacks. With each explosion, Hofmann’s grip on reality grew ever more tenuous, his descent into darkness hastened by the chilling realization that he was now a fugitive from justice, hunted by those he once considered allies.
Then there was the third bomb which exploded the next day with Mark Hofmann in his car. Who was it likely intended for? Was it a suicide attempt as some people believe, or was it intended for someone else? In the Netflix documentary, “Murder Among the Mormons,” Mark Hofmann is heard on a prison recording claiming that he was trying to commit suicide with the 3rd bomb. However, police reportedly found bomb-making materials in the remains of Hofmann’s car and he immediately became a suspect.
Witnesses placed Mark Hofmann at the site of the bombings…
Witnesses placed Mark Hofmann at the site of bombings that killed two people, including one victim who warned the Mormon documents dealer his allegedly fraudulent deals were catching up to him.
Another witness cited in the document said he saw Hofmann carrying a package addressed to one of two bombing victims while two other witnesses said they saw a vehicle identical to Hofmann’s in the driveway or on the street by the home of the second victim.
Hofmann was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder in the Oct. 15, 1985, bombing deaths of Christensen and Kathleen Sheets, 50, wife of Christensen’s former business partner, J. Gary Sheets.
Christensen was killed when he picked up a booby-trapped package at his downtown office. Sheets died when she picked up a similar package police said was addressed to her husband at their suburban home.
The Manhunt and Capture of Mark Hofmann
As the city of Salt Lake City reeled from the aftermath of Hofmann’s deadly bombings, a sense of urgency gripped law enforcement agencies as they mobilized to bring the elusive forger-turned-murderer to justice. With each passing day, the manhunt intensified, with authorities leaving no stone unturned in their relentless pursuit of the elusive culprit. Hofmann, however, proved to be a formidable adversary, employing every trick in his arsenal to evade capture and continue his reign of terror unchecked.
Despite Hofmann’s cunning and resourcefulness, his luck eventually ran out on January 23, 1986, when law enforcement agents finally closed in on their elusive quarry. Cornered and desperate, Hofmann found himself facing the full weight of justice as he was apprehended by authorities, bringing an end to his reign of terror and marking the beginning of the end for the enigmatic forger.
As Hofmann sat in interrogation rooms, the full extent of his depravity was laid bare for all to see. With chilling clarity, he confessed to his crimes, revealing the twisted motivations that had driven him to commit acts of unspeakable violence and deception. His elaborate web of lies and deceit had finally unraveled, exposing the dark heart that lurked beneath the facade of respectability and charm. The revelations sent shockwaves rippling through the community, leaving behind a trail of devastation and sorrow in their wake.
Legacy and Lessons Learned
The saga of Mark Hofmann and the “Mormon Murders” left an indelible mark on the Mormon community, shaking its foundations to the core and sparking a crisis of faith that reverberated far beyond the confines of Salt Lake City. For many devout believers, the revelation of Hofmann’s crimes shattered the illusion of infallibility surrounding the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The failure of church leaders to detect the fraud perpetrated by Hofmann raised troubling questions about the vulnerability of the faithful to manipulation and deceit.
In the wake of the scandal, the Mormon church found itself grappling with a crisis of confidence as members struggled to reconcile their deeply held beliefs with the harsh realities exposed by Hofmann’s deceptions. The once-unquestioned authority of church leaders came under scrutiny, with many questioning their ability to safeguard the integrity of the faith against the machinations of those intent on sowing discord and chaos.
Jeremy T. Runnells is a critic of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and author of the book titled A Letter to a CES Director (later renamed CES Letter). Runnells grew up as a seventh-generation member of the LDS Church with pioneer ancestry. He served a mission for the church in New York and graduated from church-owned Brigham Young University. In 2012, he began to experience doubts over his faith. A director of institute of the LDS Church’s Church Educational System (CES) asked him to write his concerns, and in response Runnells sent an 84-page letter with his concerns.
Jeremy comments on the Hofmann event:
Let’s take a step back here and look at the big picture. Due to the failure of these “prophets, seers, and revelators” to detect and protect the Church they held stewardship over from Mark Hofmann’s several years of scamming the Church, two innocent people were murdered in 1985. These two individuals, Steven Christensen and Kathy Sheets, would likely still be alive today if the Brethren were actually “prophets, seers, and revelators” who had the gift of discernment to protect and defend the very institution they were supposedly commissioned by God Himself to protect and defend.
In their own eyes, despite the profound impact of the Hofmann saga, the Mormon church emerged from the turmoil stronger and seemingly more resilient than ever before. In the years that followed, stringent measures were implemented to enhance document authentication procedures and safeguard against future forgeries. The lessons learned from the debacle served as a wake-up call for church leaders, prompting them to take proactive steps to protect the faith from further exploitation.
Yet, for many within the Mormon community, the scars left by Hofmann’s actions continue to linger, serving as a poignant reminder of the dangers posed by unchecked ambition and the seductive allure of deception. The legacy of the “Mormon Murders” serves as a cautionary tale for believers and skeptics alike, reminding us all of the fragility of truth and the ever-present threat of manipulation and deceit in an increasingly complex world.
Hofmann’s forgeries and the effect they had on the Church provide a window which frames a tension within the modern Mormon Church: a tension between history and myth, contemporary vitality and historic legitimacy. Hofmann’s forgeries exploited the weaknesses in the Mormon myth, revealing its failings as an inclusive picture of Mormonism’s complexities. Naturally, the Church sought to minimize the exposure these documents received. After the scandal had passed, the Church sought to protect the myth from further exploitation. Scholars posed the greatest threat to the endurance and credence of the myth, and it was their voices that the Church attempted to curtail.
Hofmann was indeed guilty of fabricating history, but the Church has been guilty of simplifying it. Hiding away history, altering it, streamlining it, indeed serves the purposes of a wealthy Church, but in this case, it has come with the price of a historical paranoia that weakens the intrigue and richness of its doctrine and alienates intellectuals. Consequently, this serves to harm the Church in the long run. With Hofmann, we see the hazard in the Church’s attempt to reconcile the literal to the symbolic, the historic to the mythic. By emphasizing the literal in a mythic system only when convenient, the Church has created a space for disillusioned members to become dissidents, and for resentment to transform itself into revenge. It is here we find Mark Hofmann, and it is here where others will be forged as long as this contradiction lives.
Unraveling the Truth Behind the Mormon Murders
The story of Mark Hofmann stands as a chilling reminder of the depths to which human depravity can sink. From his early days as a master forger to his descent into murder and mayhem, Hofmann’s life is a testament to the power of deception and the fragility of truth. As the dust settles on his dark legacy, one can only hope that the lessons learned from his crimes will serve to prevent such horrors from ever happening again.
Murder Among The Mormons is available on Netflix.
Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Murder Among the Mormons’: Series smartly recalls when a forgery scandal turned fatal.
Directors Jared Hess and Tyler Measom do a superb job of telling this incredible true story via a treasure trove of archival news footage, audio tapes and home videos; the occasional re-creation of events, and interviews with a host of historians, researchers, investigators, news reporters and other key figures.
The interviewee in that opening scene is Shannon Flynn, a rare document dealer, and the man he’s talking about is one Mark Hofmann, the “Indiana Jones” of Mormon documents (as one old news report calls him) who made a series of astonishing discoveries in the 1980s that shook the very foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while catapulting Hofmann to niche fame and possible riches.
It was another Hofmann find that roiled the Latter-day Saints community. According to Mormon teachings, the Angel Moroni appeared to Smith and presented him with the golden plates from which Smith translated the Book of Mormon. This tenet of the faith is challenged when Hofmann comes forward with a letter supposedly written in Smith’s hand, describing a “magic salamander” spirit guarding the golden plates and demanding Joseph bring his dead brother Alvin to take possession of the plates. Deemed authentic by experts, the “Salamander Letter” challenged the very bedrock of the LDS story. “Instead of gods and angels, now it’s salamanders and magic,” says Sandra Tanner, a researcher of Mormon history.
This is when “Murder Among the Mormons” begins to play out like something from a real-life, Utah-based version of “The Da Vinci Code.” Hofmann starts taking trips to New York and binge drinking with associates, buys a spiffy new Toyota MR2 and develops an affinity for automatic weapons, while his now ex-wife Dorie (who is interviewed in present day for the film) takes care of their children and wonders what in the world is happening with her husband.
Amazingly, there’s much more of this story to be told, and “Murder Among the Mormons” does a superb job of telling the tale.
Where Is Mark Hofmann Now?
Mark Hofmann won’t ever see freedom again.
Following his conviction, Mark Hofmann was taken to the maximum-security Utah State Prison, per AP News. A year into his sentence in 1988, The Salt Lake Tribune reports, Hofmann wrote a head-turning letter to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, in which he admitted that he was more satisfied with being guilty of murder and attempted suicide (with a third bomb that had gone off in Hofmann’s car, according to Deseret News) than for forgery. He also detailed his long-running fascination with forgery and said that “fooling people gave [him] a sense of power and superiority.”
Following this letter, as well as a reportedly remorseless in-person testimony for parole, Hofmann was sentenced to life behind bars. However, Hofmann’s biggest life change since then occurred in late 2015, when he was transferred to a lower-security prison in Utah, as reported by Deseret News. Utah Department of Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke confirmed that Hofmann was transferred because he had “virtually no behavioral management issues.” Hofmann now has “more access to other inmates” and an extended “recreation time” at the new prison, according to Gehrke.
Hofmann was 66 years old at the time of Murder Among the Mormons’ release in 2021 and had been imprisoned for more than three decades.
A Gathering of Saints by Robert Lindsey (Simon & Schuster, 1988, 400 pages) is one of three major books that appeared in 1988 chronicling the events of the Hofmann case, and by far, the best overall.