SALT LAKE CITY — A man who admitted shooting his wife in the head while she slept was sentenced to six years to life in prison Monday, bringing to a close the case of murder and deceit that shocked Utah last July.

Judge Denise Lindberg handed Mark Hacking (search) his sentence — the only penalty allowed by Utah state law — after hearing emotional statements from the family of his murdered wife Lori.

On Monday, Hacking said he had no excuse for his behavior and that he was willing to spend an eternity in jail if it was possible to amend for his crime.

“She didn’t do nothing but love me unconditionally, even when I didn’t deserve it. She was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, but I killed her, and took the life of my unborn child and put them in the garbage and I can’t explain whey I did it,” Hacking said in a halted voice when addressing the judge and family members.

“I put them in the garbage, and they rotted out at the landfill. I’m tormented every waking minute by what I did,” he said.

An autopsy of the badly decomposed body could not confirm that Lori Hacking was pregnant, as she had told friends, leaving the state unable to seek the death penalty.

Lori Hacking’s body was found three months later at a landfill.

After Lori went to bed, Mark Hacking stayed up late playing video games for an hour. Then, sorting through his belongings, he found his rifle, went into the bedroom and shot his wife, according to investigators.

He disposed of her body, the rifle and mattress in separate trash bins. And the next morning, he found time to shop for a new mattress while reporting his wife had not returned from an early morning jog.

Under Utah’s system of indeterminate criminal sentences, first-degree murder brings a mandatory five years to life, but Hacking’s minimum will be increased to six years because he used a firearm. The judge can only impose the broad range of sentence, leaving it up to Utah’s Board of Pardons and Parole to decide when or if Hacking will ever be set free.

Under Utah state system, you only get 5 years of prison for murder. WHAT?!?!?! What kind of state is this? I know Scott Peterson wished he lived in Utah, or at least wished he did his wrong doings there. Do you see what kind of message this is sending to the world, “Uh, if I want to kill my significant other, maybe I should do it in Utah? If I get caught, I will only do five years….” Moral of the story: If your significant other offers a trip to Utah, SAY NO!!!! Especially if you are a woman and pregnant.