Thursday, March 11, 2021

Documentary Review: Murder Among the Mormons

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Murder Among the Mormons. Documentary series. Netflix (2021).

Summary:  In the mid-1980's, Mark Hofmann discovered some historical documents that could be damaging to the LDS church.  Mark and his colleagues sold the documents to the church.  Not long after that there was a series of bombings in Salt Lake City that seemed to be targeting those connected to these transactions. This series walks us through what happened.

My thoughts:  This documentary was well done and covered an interesting true crime that I didn't know anything about.  It was well paced and easy to watch, containing relevant and interesting information without bogging the viewer down. The series contains three episodes.  Episode one tells the story of Mark Hofmann and the historical documents that he discovered.  This is done through interviews with several people who were close to him, including his wife and several of his associates.  We also learn something of his past and a little about Mormonism. 

Episode two begins just after the bombings have occurred and is told from the perspective of the law enforcement team that handled the crimes.  It was very interesting to travel through the investigation with them.  There was footage of the actual detectives in the "war room", the detectives working on the case in a secure room.  It was interesting to hear what they were saying at the time and then hear from them now as they were recalling that time.  They had very little to go on until someone came forward who saw a strange man the morning of one of the bombings.  

Episode three reveals what happened and how.  This portion included some science behind the techniques used, which was fascinating.  It also reveals why, with recorded interviews done with the murderer after he was arrested.  Also, we get the reactions of those close to him.  

Murder Among the Mormons is a compelling documentary series that tells a story of greed and deception that led to murder.  



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