Mormon Papers Case Guilty Plea

Hofmann Admits Killing to Conceal Forgeries

By ROBERT A. JONES, Times Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY—A rare-documents dealer whose alleged discoveries once threatened to undermine official Mormon Church history pleaded guilty Friday to forging documents and then killing two people to prevent his exposure.

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On Friday, Hofmann admitted in court that the salamander letter was a forgery and that the McLellin papers never existed. Prosecutors dropped 24 other counts of fraud involving allegedly false documents.

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But the most dramatic testimony involved the discovery of the document forgeries. Previously the documents had been certified as authentic by a number of experts, including the FBI and the Library of Congress.

Using new techniques, document examiners discovered a characteristic cracking in the ink of virtually all the Hofmann papers. The cracking was eventually related to the artificial aging process Hofmann used on the documents.