Mormon Papers Dealer Charged in Bomb Deaths

Mormon documents dealer Mark Hofmann was indicted in Salt Lake City on first-degree murder and fraud charges Tuesday in connection with two pipe-bomb deaths nearly four months ago, but the arrest shed little light on suspected motives for the killings or the bizarre events surrounding them.

Authorities immediately sealed the “probable cause” statement supporting the arrest warrant, saying that pretrial publicity could prejudice the case.

Salt Lake County Atty. Ted Cannon said Hofmann, 31, who was seriously injured in a third bomb blast the day after the two fatal explosions, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in a complaint filed in the 5th Circuit Court.

Prime Suspect

Hofmann had been a prime suspect in the case since the bombings Oct. 15 that killed Steven Christensen, a 30-year-old stockbroker with whom he had dealings in rare Mormon church documents, and Kathleen Sheets, 50, the wife of Gary Sheets, a Christensen associate.

At a press conference, Cannon said the charges also contained two counts of delivery or placement of an infernal device and one count of construction or possession of an infernal device. In addition, Hofmann was charged with 13 counts of theft by deception and 10 counts of communications fraud. The complaint did not give further details, and Cannon would not elaborate.

Hofmann, accompanied by his lawyers, turned himself in Tuesday morning at the Salt Lake City-County Jail, where he was being held without bail pending a hearing today. He was arraigned late Tuesday afternoon. One of his attorneys, Brad Rich, said in an interview that Hofmann maintains his innocence and will not seek to plea bargain.

Seven of the counts charging theft by deception identified the victim as the Mormon Church, which had obtained at least 40 documents--and perhaps as many as 100--from Hofmann. Another theft-by-deception charge named Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor to church President Ezra Taft Benson, as a victim.

No Church Comment

A spokesman for the 5.8-million-member church said its authorities would make no immediate comment about the arrest. Sources close to the investigation told The Times earlier that, if the case goes to trial, it could disclose the large extent of document dealings that church officials have had with Hofmann.

No Mormon Church officers have been charged in the case, and church officials have said there was nothing “sinister” or “underhanded” about their acknowledged meetings with Hofmann.

For months preceding the bombings, Hofmann had been attempting to sell, for a reported $185,000, papers known as the McLellin collection, said to contain the writings of an early Mormon defector. An intermediary buyer was to donate the documents to the church. But investigators have said that Hofmann did not actually possess the papers and that he was attempting a fraud.