FARMINGTON — Family members of the woman who was killed by her son because he believed she was a “replicant” said they are glad Jeremy Jacob Hauck will not be able to hurt anyone else.
“We’re just glad he’s where he cannot get out,” said Annie Call, a niece of Laurel Hauck, who died Aug. 5, 2006. “We can start healing now.”
Call was one of the family members who attended Hauck’s hearing Monday in 2nd District Court, where the 24-year-old man was found innocent by reason of insanity for killing his mother, Laurel Hauck, seven years ago.
Judge John R. Morris entered the ruling on Hauck’s mental condition after the attorneys said the reports from doctors all agreed he was not mentally competent at the time of the crime. Morris then ruled that Hauck be placed in the custody of the Department of Human Services and placed in the Utah State Hospital.
Hauck has been diagnosed with a schizophrenic disorder, an autism disorder and a delusional disorder, attorneys said.
Hauck still “poses a threat to himself and to others,” Morris said
Hauck could remain at the hospital for the rest of his life, said Todd Utzinger, the defense attorney.
Hearings to review Hauck’s mental condition will be scheduled every six months.
Hauck killed his mother when he was in a state of delusion believing “The Source” told him she was a “replicant” — a bioengineered being created in the “Blade Runner” movie (1982) — that had to be killed, Utzinger said.
“He did not think he was killing his mother,” Utzinger said.
Hauck even had tried to remove a “chip” from his arm that he believed “The Source” had put there to communicate with him, Utzinger said.
Utzinger said after court that Hauck’s mental condition had begun to deteriorate as a teenager, but because of the type of autism he had, no one recognized that he may become dangerous.
Utzinger said there had been hours of discussion between attorneys and the doctors concerning Hauck, but not in open court.
Deputy Davis County Attorney David Cole said the mental illness discussions were not held in open court because they were complicated.
Utzinger said Hauck understands what he did and says he “feels sad,” but because of the autism disorder, Hauck cannot show those feelings.
Hospital officials were able to restore Hauck’s mental competency so he could understand what was happening in the courtroom, attorneys said.
Hauck shot his mother twice, slit her throat and put her body in a freezer in their condominium when he was 18 years old, according to court documents. The body was found Aug. 7, 2006. Hauck was arrested a few days later in Missoula, Mont., at a Super 8 Motel.
According to court records, Bountiful police found Laura Hauck’s body after family members reported the woman missing and asked authorities to check on her.
Police entered her condominium through a second-story window and discovered a large pool of blood on the bed. They followed the trail of blood to a utility room in the basement, where “it appeared as if something bloody had been dragged,” records state.
The officers found a freezer with traces of blood on it and inside it they found Laurel Hauck’s body.
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