FARMINGTON — Police and prosecutors will meet here today to screen the case against Jeremy Hauck, accused in the gruesome murder of his mother, whose body was found stuffed in a freezer.
Meanwhile, the 18-year-old is scheduled to appear before a Missoula, Mont., court this morning where the issue of extraditing him to Utah will be brought up. A hearing set for Monday did not happen, Montana authorities said.
Davis County prosecutors told the Deseret Morning News they are looking at whether any additional charges will be filed against Hauck, including capital murder.
"One thing we will look at is whether we have any of the factors that are required for a capital case," deputy Davis County attorney Steve Major said Monday. "It is something we will look at. Whether it is something we will go for, I don't know."
Major said he was unclear if there were enough factors to elevate the charges to a capital offense. If prosecutors charged Hauck with capital murder, he would then be eligible for the death penalty.
Right now, the 18-year-old is charged with first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony theft. He is accused of shooting his mother, Laura Hauck, twice in the head and then slitting her throat. Bountiful police said her body was stuffed inside a chest-style freezer where it remained for several days.
After not hearing from her for days, Laura Hauck's family called police, who broke into the home where she lived with her son, Jeremy. Inside, police said they found a bloody mattress and a trail of blood leading to a freezer where a body was discovered. It took days for the body to thaw just so police could identify it.
Meanwhile, police issued an attempt-to-locate for Jeremy Hauck, accusing him of killing his mother and suggesting to authorities he might be heavily armed and suicidal — possibly seeking suicide by cop.
"We got that from family members, and it was just his attitude," Bountiful Police Lt. Randy Pickett said.
Jeremy Hauck was arrested last week at a Missoula motel where police said they found several guns in his possession. Police told the Deseret Morning News he had purchased them at sporting goods stores in Riverdale and Ogden just a week before his mother died.
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com