The indictment accuses Kent of allowing his wife to go out to death scenes as a deputy coroner, even though she took no oath and an appointment had not been filed with the county clerk, as required by law. I know these are not his ashes because his body parts went all over the country, Hanson said. Its a community struggling to understand the stories and the accusations about what happened in the back room at Sunset Mesa. Kent also operates funeral homes in Silverthorne, Idaho Springs, Fairplay and Buena Vista. 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. When Mabry and Eberspacher went to Sunset Mesa the morning after Dunlap died, Hess and Koch said they could not locate the eye, Eberspacher said. . 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. In addition, a lawsuit has been filed by Shirley Hollenback and her daughter alleging that the remains she received purported to be the cremation ashes of her husband are somebody elses remains and not those of her husband. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Fo This whole situation, oh, I thought it was part of my past.. Sunset Mesas operators, Megan Hess and Shirley Koch, were indicted by a federal grand jury in March for allegedly shipping body parts all over the world against the will of family members, who found out years later that the ashes in their homes were not those of their loved ones. Earlier this month, authorities from both Lake and Eagle counties encountered a strong odor of decomposition when they searched the Leadville funeral home, reads. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. A Medical Examiner can often discover hidden evidence of injury to explain a sudden death, or can document natural diseases to show that no foul play was involved in the death. Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to fraud in July. Body snatcher, vile, pure evil, sociopath, are the words they used when asked to describe Hess. All rights reserved. A body bag was found to be leaking bodily fluids along with a container of animal remains which was also leaking fluids. "No, I did not," Hancock responded. A funeral home in Crapaud, Prince Edward Island is under RCMP investigation for allegations of financial irregularities. On March 16, the director of the Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration sent Kent a letter of admonition after a state investigator found unembalmed, unrefrigerated bodily remains in his Gypsum funeral home more than 24 hours from the date of death. . Sunset Mesas operators, Megan Hess and Shirley Koch, were indicted by a federal grand jury in March for allegedly shipping body parts all over the world against the will of family members, who found out years later that the ashes in their homes were not those of their loved ones. This compassionate help is the essence of what we do. Could, Lake County coroner turns in resignation letter, State suspends operations of Leadville, Gypsum funeral homes, 3 BULLETS TO THE BACK: The striking silence around a police, Last Season Hunters Harvested the Most Bucks in 21 Years | Outdoor Life, Republicans are barring medical boards from punishing doctors who prescribe ivermectin: report | Salon.com, Mead High School student gets musical Make-A-Wish surprise, Bruce Cassidy Defends Tuukka Rask After Tough Showing Vs. Its really an underground industry that most people dont know about, said attorney Michael Burg. This content was originally published here. At the focal point of the FBI probe: funeral director Megan Hess, who did not return Fox News request for a comment. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. The Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center is under investigation by Jeffersonville Police Detective Division after 31 deceased individuals and the post-cremated remains of 16 individuals. The body was identified as that of 42 . Dunlap left one specific instruction: The glass eye that hed worn since a childhood accident should be removed and sent to his best friend. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Colorado does not regulate body brokers. After reading the states suspension order this week, two women told The Denver Post that the circumstances surrounding E.W. sound eerily familiar. We did not provide our messaging to be repurposed in this brochure, and are following up, said spokeswoman Erin Dolin. (McGovern said no industry regulated by the Division of Professions and Occupations has regulators assigned exclusively to it.) At her funeral home, Hess charged families up to $1,000 for cremations that never occurred, prosecutors said, and she offered others free cremations in exchange for a body donation. There are no ethics there when you do that. In Colorado, the states organ donation program, Donor Alliance, said Hesss marketing language could be confusing to people.. That means almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human remains. Since that time, according to the article, Reuters has not been able to find another business in the United States that operates a funeral home, crematory, and body broker business in the same location and operated by the same owner. ThinkStock via Getty Images. The Lake County Sheriffs Office confirmed an active criminal investigation is underway. I went through a very bad crisis losing the baby, Cavanagh said. Jan 3 (Reuters) - A former Colorado funeral home owner was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Tuesday for defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting 560 corpses and selling body. 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 home, located at 8215 W. Summerdale Ave., was sold for just shy of $400,000 in May 2021. A change of plea hearing for Koch is scheduled for July 12. Thats when E.W. pleaded guilty to fraud in July after a . The price list is from an Arizona company shut down after an FBI raid five years ago. The confrontation escalated when Shannon Kent allegedly called Lake County Sheriff Amy Reyes and threatened her with arrest for questioning his wifes decision not to use the body bag, prosecutors said. PUBLISHED 8:21 PM CT Apr. The conflict of interest of having a side business in body parts just leads to problems. While Sunset Mesa legally is permitted to own and operate both businesses, Reuters found that there was no other active instance where a funeral home, crematory and body broker had the same owner and were in the same facility. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Kent has not been arrested in this latest incident and no charges have been filed, though the two funeral homes business licenses have been suspended by the state. An agent with the FBI has interviewed at least four former employees who worked for funeral director and body broker Megan Hess, seeking information about how she operates her businesses, the former workers told Reuters. or redistributed. A price list uncovered during an ongoing lawsuit against an Arizona body broker provides insight into the value of body parts and the profits that can be produced. She took orders for body parts via Hotmail, email records show. The Justice Department did not respond to Fox News' request for comment. I went through a very bad crisis losing the baby, Cavanagh said. All rights reserved. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. found out the cremains contained ashes from an infant, but also long bone fragments of an older/larger adult individual and metal, according to the suspension order. 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. Read on to see why: At a glance, the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home appeared to be a business helping locals through the loss of their loved ones. It can't be fixed, said Hancock. Authorities also uncovered multiple refrigerated bodies which were wrapped in sheets or blankets but did not have any tags or paperwork identifying them. The Lake County Sheriffs Office confirmed an active criminal investigation is underway. Below, find out where 25 of the most infamous crimes in history took place and what the locations are used for today. Reuters identified 34 body brokers that have been active across the United States during the past five years. Thousands more patients could benefit from life saving and healing eye and tissue donations.. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Charles Lynch to pay them a last tribute. A few days later, she was able to pick up the cremains, but like E.W., Cavanagh received no paperwork. Denver attorneys Mike Berg and Dave Teselle now represent more than 50 families who claim Hess and her parents victimized them. At Sunset Mesa, Hess charged $1,995 for a simple burial and $695 for a basic cremation, according to price lists reviewed by Reuters. All they got was the urn and a death certificate no other paperwork. I didnt believe in depression until I lost my baby, Cavanagh said. But days went by and she couldnt reach anyone. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. Subscribe to Funeral Director Daily The indictment accuses Kent of allowing his wife to go out to death scenes as a deputy coroner, even though she took no oath and an appointment had not been filed with the county clerk, as required by law. SCI 4Q Revenue and Year End Revenue lower than comparables, Funeral Director Daily, The business of Funeral Care. Thank you, she said before ending the call. The Denver attorney is referring to the limited and nonexistent regulation nationwide and worldwide regarding the procurement and selling of bodies and body parts. 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. Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors of Montrose handled the funeral . are acquisitions larger in general? She mentioned on several occasions about how much money she would be getting per month, which blew my mind, said Jennifer Henderson, a former floral designer for Sunset Mesa. On her cremation marketing website, a donor could simply select from a drop-down menu, fill out a few forms, click Add to Cart, and enter a credit card number. 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. Non-compete agreements, Customer Experience, Community Engagement. Her funeral home site listed her credentials, including a PhD in mortuary science. Reuters Investigates offers several ways to securely contact our reporters. The Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors and Donor Services building in Montrose, Colorado, U.S., December 16, 2017. Such multipurpose operations raise ethical concerns, several funeral industry veterans said. It is a business and it is a profit business, added Burg. Most brokers who sell body parts offer to cremate part of the donors body for free. Shannon and Staci Kent did not respond to interview requests from The Denver Post. "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. 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. One of Hesss donors was Rex Dunlap, a frugal Coloradan battling brain cancer. It described a body broker as a company that acquires dead bodies, dissects them and sells the parts for profit to medical researchers, training organizations and other buyers.. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. According to Jeffersonville Police Major Isaac Parker, the department began its investigation of the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville on Friday. 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. Before he died in 2016, the 78-year-old retired contractor saved $200 on cremation by agreeing to pledge parts of his body to Donor Services. The probe into the coroners funeral homes started back in February, after a client complained to the Lake County Sheriffs Office about the handling of human remains. None of the former employees or associates Reuters interviewed worked directly for the body broker business. "Hess and Koch's conduct caused immense emotional pain for the families and next of kin.". Jacque Hampson spent a year working as Hesss personal assistant. "Hess and Koch used their funeral home at times to essentially steal bodies and body parts using fraudulent and forged donor forms," prosecutor Tim Neff said in a court filing. Chantal Reh, an Avon resident, went through a similar experience when she suffered a stillborn birth in August 2018. some timely learning opportunities for our readers, Dont forget Low-tech to build your brand. I'll never be OK.". Thank you for thinking of me.. He would not discuss the nature of those complaints or any action it may be taking. 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. (REUTERS). Reuters has reported in a report that you can read here that the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home of Montrose, Colorado, and its associated business, Donor Services, remains under investigation by the FBI. Unfortunately, the attention wasn't focused on the town's natural beauty or tourism opportunities. In Colorado, there are few regulations to catch shoddy behavior, such as illegitimate body trading, by mortuaries. The brochure, provided to Reuters by Hess during the 2016 interview, continued this way: Every year, organ, eye and tissue transplants provide hope to tens of thousands of people suffering from disease, injury, trauma or blindness. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. The. Records from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies showthis was not the first time Kent has been in the crosshairs of state regulators. The operators of a Colorado funeral home suspected of running a side business selling body parts without consent have been indicted on fraud and illegally transporting diseased cadavers. Colorado regulators shut down the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in 2018. He has served as Lake County coroner since 2012 and was reelected to a four-year term in November 2018. Details uncovered in the FBI investigation were shared with her. He covers everything from stolen art and towing to mobile homes and quirky stories that defy category. The startling discovery led to a further investigation of oversight in the funeral industry. As she mourned the loss of her son, Cavanagh was referred to the Kent Funeral Home in Gypsum to do the cremation. Just about any adult can run for coroner in Colorado. Kent also still faces second-degree official misconduct charges stemming from a September 2019 grand jury indictment in the Fifth Judicial District. In Colorado and most other states, it's legal for funeral homes to sell items taken from corpses, including the gold found in teeth. Her 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. What You Need To Know. a contrarian view? Funeral homes are required to register with the state, but spokesman Rasizer said the regulatory affairs department is not authorized to inspect mortuaries. She showed Denver7 the container that she was given. Feb 4, 2023, 5:26 PM SGT. MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (WHTM) A Lancaster County funeral home and its director are facing formal disciplinary action and are under investigation by the state. Koch's central role was chopping up the bodies, court records show. found out the cremains contained ashes from an infant, but also long bone fragments of an older/larger adult individual and metal, according to the suspension order. "We don't even have a name for a crime this heinous. She said that one month she got about $40,000 from selling donated bodies. Its sickening, said Hanson. Why their loved ones were stolen from them, and they were given back dry cement or sand and told it was loved ones ashes, said Teselle. The Daily Sentinel reports that Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. ", Tina Shanon, whose mother was dismembered against her will, told the court, "I've worn many masks to cover the pain. Such a partnership may raise ethical concerns because it creates a financial incentive for the funeral home. Neither addressed the issue about the teeth. 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. 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity, Donor Services, from the same building in Montrose, Colorado. In 2009, Hess also created a nonprofit called Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation, d/b/a Donor Services, a body broker service operated out of the same location as SMFD. Funeral home remains under federal investigation A woman is among more than five dozen family members currently suing the family that operated the now shut-down Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, after finding out her husband's body parts had been sold without her consent. Colorado Ordway Funeral Homes Eaton Family Funeral Home Eaton Family Funeral Home in Ordway 202 E 3rd St Ordway, CO 81063 (719) 267-4221 Click to show location on map Zoom About Eaton Family Funeral Home We understand that losing a loved one can be a very stressful time.