At the focal point of the FBI probe: funeral director Megan Hess, who did not return Fox News request for a comment. The conflict of interest of having a side business in body parts just leads to problems,Steve Palmer, a funeral director in Cottonwood, Ariz., and former member of the policy board at the National Funeral Directors Association, said. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity, Donor Services, from the same building in Montrose, Colorado. At Donor Services, her body parts business, Hess can generate a greater return on the dead, a different price list reviewed by Reuters showed. Think about it, the FBI came in and raided them, and they raided them because they knew this body broker this was getting bigger and bigger and bigger, said Berg. The Bailey-Kent Funeral Home was the only option given to her for cremation under a certain weight, she said. Prosecutors recommended a sentence for Hess of 12 to 15 years. felt they were too heavy to be those of a stillborn child, and submitted them for analysis. Most brokers who sell body parts offer to cremate part of the donors body for free. Authorities are now investigating. Colorado regulators have shut down the funeral home. The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state our community can better understand itself. GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO: On allegations of fraud and illegally selling body parts, a former owner of a funeral home in Colorado was given a 20-year term in federal prison. I know these are not his ashes because his body parts went all over the country, Hanson said. Its for profit and people dont realize there is a huge demand for cadavers and body parts., That demand comes from all over the world including medical schools, law enforcement agencies, the military and a variety of other industries looking to legitimately purchase bodies and body parts for credible research. Unfortunately, the attention wasn't focused on the town's natural beauty or tourism opportunities. Body brokers like Donor Services are also known as non-transplant tissue banks. . These people deserve to know why what was done to them was done to them. Lake County coroner Shannon Kent owns both the Bailey-Kent Funeral Home in Leadville about 100 miles southeast of Denver and the Kent Funeral Home Gypsum about 133 miles west of the Mile High City, The Denver Post reported Friday. A body bag was found to be leaking bodily fluids along with a container of animal remains which was also leaking fluids. Separate from the FBI inquiry, Reuters has learned that Colorado state funeral regulators are investigating Hesss funeral home, Sunset Mesa. And as of. The 20-year term was the maximum allowed under law. Specifics of the scope of theFBI investigation are unclear. In at least dozens of instances, Hess and Koch did not follow family wishes, and neither discussed nor obtained authorization for Donor Services to transfer decedents' bodies or . None of the former employees or associates Reuters interviewed worked directly for the body broker business. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. After an extensive investigation into this and dozens of similar cases, federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged the owners of the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, on suspicion of illegally brokering the body parts of deceased individuals they were hired to cremate. All rights reserved. The next year,. Her 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. "We don't even have a name for a crime this heinous. Ive been violated, said Alena Holloman. Koch said she had sold a different batch a year prior, and they took the whole family to Disneyland in California on the gold that they cashed in, Escher said. Staci Kent arrived to one of those death scenes without a body bag, which spurred an argument with authorities, the indictment notes. Theyre united by the pain of believing they purchased cremation services for their loved ones, knowing they never agreed to let Hess dismember the bodies. I thought it was something that needs to be corrected," said state Senator Larry Crowder, one of the bills sponsors. The Lake County Sheriffs Office confirmed an active criminal investigation is underway. It comes on the heels of a law passed in 2020 that. Body brokers sometimes market their services using language that could mislead prospective donors into believing the broker handles organ donations. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Do You Remember the Dark History of This Colorado Funeral Home? Though Koch dissected bodies in the back room at Sunset Mesa, they claimed that the body had to be sent out for harvesting, Eberspacher said. "It's concerning to the court that defendant Hess refuses to assume any responsibility for her conduct.". GRAND JUNCTION A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court. While operating Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, Hess and Koch sold remains of the deceased for body broker services without family consent and gave families ashes that were. But the business arrangement is highly unusual. Hess and Koch also shipped bodies and body parts that tested positive for, or belonged to people who died from, infectious diseases including Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, despite certifying to buyers that the remains were disease-free, authorities said. Email address: Colorado Funeral Home / Body Broker Continues Under Investigation, Acquisitions, buy-outs, creative ideas. Separate from the FBI inquiry, Reuters has learned that Colorado state funeral regulators are investigating Hess's funeral home, Sunset Mesa. We were greeted at the door by her father, who told us to leave the property. Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Members of the FBI, along with Montrose law enforcement investigate the Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors and Donor Services building Tuesday morning, February 6, 2018. POCATELLO, Idaho Police in Pocatello are investigating a local funeral home after they said a state health inspector contacted them about the business and a badly decomposed body was found. The Green Funeral. State Bans Coroner Shannon Kent From Private Business After Remains, Waste Found At Home-Based Colorado Funeral Home December 3, 2020 / 7:33 AM / CBS Colorado But no federal law governs the sale of cadavers or body parts for use in research or education. Holloman now deals with the guilt of knowing details of what happened to her moms body. There are no ethics there when you do that. Both Reh and Cavanagh said they want to get the ashes analyzed at the University of Colorado to see if they actually belong to their babies. Pictures show bodies stacked in hallways and unrefrigerated rental trucks. Part 8: Former workers describe troubling practices at this mortuary-body broker, including allegations of deceptive marketing and an account of how gold dental work was removed from corpses and sold. He has served as Lake County coroner since 2012 and was reelected to a four-year term in November 2018. The states Department of Regulatory Agencies said it has nine open complaints about Sunset Mesa higher than average for funeral homes in the state, said spokesman Lee Rasizer. To betray that help, in a way that the businesses here are alleged to have done, brings nothing but a lack of credibility to all funeral service professionals. MONTROSE, Colo. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. Did you ever consent to have this family mutilate your husbands body? asked Denver7. FBI scrutinizes funeral home that also makes money selling - Reuters Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Both Reh and Cavanagh said they want to get the ashes analyzed at the University of Colorado to see if they actually belong to their babies. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Prosecutors said she lied to more than 200 families, who received cremated ashes from bins mixed with the remains of different cadavers. Hes already facing charges of official misconduct and perjury stemming from allegations last year that he sent his wife Staci to multiple death scenes even though she wasnt authorized to serve as a deputy coroner. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Updated: 8:07 PM MDT September 14, 2021. The Denver attorney is referring to the limited and nonexistent regulation nationwide and worldwide regarding the procurement and selling of bodies and body parts. Golden Gate's owner denies all allegations. Funeral homes in Leadville and Gypsum are under criminal investigation after authorities this month found an unrefrigerated body, bags of unlabeled cremains, an abandoned stillborn infant and at least one instance in which a family received cremains for their stillborn child mixed with bits of adult body parts and metal fragments. Colorado does not regulate body brokers. Colorado funeral home owners sentenced to federal prison for selling Extra charges are assessed if a body is embalmed or a funeral director is involved. The legislation has support from the state's largest trade association for funeral homes, the Colorado Funeral Directors Association. "This is the most emotionally draining case I have ever experienced on the bench," U.S. District Judge Christine M. Arguello said during Tuesday's sentencing hearing in Grand Junction, Colorado. On Oct. 13, the state shut down both the Gypsum operation and . John Wayne Gacy's house has since been torn down and replaced with a new residence, built on the same land where Gacy reportedly buried many of his victims. Now the women wonder how many others might have had the same experience. Funeral Director Daily take: I have a hard time fathoming what may have went on at this funeral home. Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Earlier this month, authorities from both Lake and Eagle counties encountered a strong odor of decomposition when they searched the Leadville funeral home, reads. Funeral homes owned by a Colorado coroner under investigation following Former Colorado funeral home owner sentenced to 20 years for selling In February 2018, Lina Cavanagh lost her baby at an advanced stage of pregnancy a loss that took its toll on her, both physically and emotionally. There is also evidence of Donor Services shipping at least 26 boxes containing body parts to various parts of the world in 2016 according to evidence that has been recovered. You are looking at how to make money.. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Other staff members also said that it was never disclosed to donor families that the corpses would be sold for profit a potentially illegal practice. Megan Hess, the owner of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, and her parents are now under investigation by the FBI. Dunlap left one specific instruction: The glass eye that hed worn since a childhood accident should be removed and sent to his best friend. Funeral homes in Leadville and Gypsum are under criminal investigation after authorities this month found an unrefrigerated body, bags of unlabeled cremains, an abandoned stillborn infant. In February of 2018, Colorado regulators shut down the funeral home at the same time the FBI was investigating claims families did not receive the real cremains of their loved ones. But selling body parts such as heads, arms and spines which is what Hess did for use in research or education is not regulated by federal law. The owner of the funeral homes, Shannon Kent, is also Lake Countys coroner. The startling discovery led to a further investigation of oversight in the funeral industry. In court on Tuesday, Hess declined to speak to the judge. . Megan Hess, 46, operated the Sunset Mesa funeral home in Montrose, Colorado, alongside a body-parts entity called Donor Services, where she undertook the grisly scheme, starting in 2010. In mid-March, Kent received a letter of admonition" from the Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration after unembalmed, unrefrigerated remains were found in the Gypsum funeral home over 24 hours after the person had died. Hancock is one of many family members who has learned the cremains she was given by the owners of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose contained items and materials that were not her husband. Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Chantal Reh. The Daily Sentinel reportsthat Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. After losing his ability to conduct cremation or funeral home services in December, Kent's Silverthorne funeral parlor sat empty until this month when the new tenant, Colorado Funeral Homes . Fo Kent has not yet been arrested for the most recent incidents, which at the Leadville funeral home included authorities' discovery of an abandoned stillborn, according to the Oct. 13 summary suspension issued by Colorados Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration. Hess continues running a dual operation. After Mabry threatened to sue Hess for losing the eye, he said Hess wrote him a check: $500, a refund of the money Dunlap had paid to donate plus $5. Kent also still faces second-degree official misconduct charges stemming from a September 2019 grand jury indictment in the Fifth Judicial District. The investigation of Kents funeral homes began in February after the sheriffs office received a complaint by a client regarding the handling of human remains. They are struggling with claims she created a product with a power saw and angry that she ultimately profited from the sale of arms, heads legs, torsos even whole bodies. Funeral Home Operator Jailed After Selling Body Parts of 500-Plus Its sickening, said Hanson. Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. This compassionate help is the essence of what we do. florida medical examiner case search - aboutray16-eiga.com The back of the brochure featured the logo Donate Life, the national brand that promotes organ donation and is managed by Donate Life America, a nonprofit group. Woman Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Selling Body Parts Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. 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The Daily Sentinel Megan Hess Two Colorado funeral homes are under criminal investigation after authorities found a unrefrigerated body and learned that at least one family had received a stillborns cremains mixed with portions of adult remains as well as metal fragments. One ex-employee, Kari Escher, said she was especially troubled by the practices of Hesss mother, Shirley Koch, who works at the facility. Investigation into the allegations are ongoing with the Texas Funeral Services . They were affiliated with her funeral business. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. A funeral home in Indiana is under investigation after allegedly falling behind on processing dead bodies for an unknown period of time, but at least a few months. I see his body parts floating in space and I keep trying to grab them and put him back and I can't! Lancaster County funeral home under investigation for misconduct Colorado Funeral Home Caught Selling Bodies Intended For Cremation This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Such a partnership may raise ethical concerns because it creates a financial incentive for the funeral home. On at least three occasions, Staci Kent allegedly responded to calls from law enforcement requesting a coroner at a death scene, according to the indictment. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. Funeral home owners charged with desecrating human remains Pam Boyd/pboyd@vaildaily.com. MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (WHTM) A Lancaster County funeral home and its director are facing formal disciplinary action and are under investigation by the state. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors of Montrose handled the funeral . Hess, however, charged families to donate their bodies $195, plus $300 more if relatives want cremated remains returned. Teselle said, Whats shocking to me is that theres not an outcry for there to be more legislation, theres not an outcry for the government to regulate and license these people.. NBC10 . are acquisitions larger in general? This content was originally published here. All rights reserved. On Oct. 2, the Lake and Eagle county sheriffs departments executed a search warrant at the Bailey-Kent Funeral Home in Leadville, where deputies encountered a strong odor of decomposition, according to an Oct. 13 summary suspension issued by the states Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration, before finding: In addition to the Leadville funeral home, the state issued suspension orders for the Kent Funeral Home Gypsum. The. He had been dismembered. You could hear the machine going, she told Kovaleski. The Daily Sentinel reports that Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. ), Windsors Newest Hot Spot is Open and Smells of Glorious Bacon [Photos], The Cheapest Home in Weld County is Selling for Less Than $90K, Local Fort Collins Photographer Wins 3rd Grammy in the Visual Arts, WATCH: This Deleted Scene From The Office Totally Calls Out Colorado, The 2023 Cheyenne Frontier Days Concert Lineup Has Been Announced, This Weeks Larimer Countys Most Wanted: Dallas Rusk, 3 Northern Colorado Districts in Top 10 for Slow Internet Access, New Life Planned for this Beloved Greeley Building, the dark history behind the town's funeral home, READ: This 1993 Steamboat Springs Murder Became One of the Nation's Most Chilling Cases. The judge ordered that Hess and Koch be sent to prison immediately. Hess, along with her mother and father, are all named in a lawsuit, which accuses them of using a backroom to dismember cadavers with a power saw and stack body parts in coolers. Funeral homes in Leadville and Gypsum are under criminal investigation after authorities this month found an unrefrigerated body, bags of unlabeled cremains, an abandoned stillborn infant and at least one instance in which a family received cremains for their stillborn child mixed with bits of adult body parts and metal fragments. The funeral home's owners, Megan Hess, 43, and her mother . A former Colorado funeral home operator has pleaded guilty to stealing and then selling hundreds of human bodies or body parts to people who were buying the remains for scientific, medical or . When Reuters visited her facility in 2016, Hess said Donor Services represented just 15 percent or so of her total business.
colorado funeral home under investigation