Its a community struggling to understand the stories and the accusations about what happened in the back room at Sunset Mesa. Propel Funeral Partners makes acquisitions. The emotional, daylong hearing brought to a close a five-year legal odyssey that began when the FBI raided the funeral home in February 2018, following a Reuters investigation that found Sunset Mesa to be unlike any other business in the country. Last August, police received a complaint that funds provided to. In 2020, authorities charged the two with mail fraud and illegal transportation of hazardous materials. 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 content was originally published here. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In Colorado, the states organ donation program, Donor Alliance, said Hesss marketing language could be confusing to people.. Instead, the media was interested in the dark history behind the town's funeral home, Sunset Mesa. 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. 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. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? One ex-employee, Kari Escher, said she was especially troubled by the practices of Hesss mother, Shirley Koch, who works at the facility. did not receive a contract for funeral services, and only received the cremains after several calls to Kent, the order states. The recent parade of early deaths has hit close to home. Each edition is filled with exclusive news, analysis and other behind-the-scenes information you wont find anywhere else. I thought it was something that needs to be corrected," said state Senator Larry Crowder, one of the bills sponsors. MONTROSE, Colorado The Federal Bureau of Investigation is interviewing former employees of a funeral home whose owner runs a side business on the same premises selling human body parts. The owner of the funeral homes, Shannon Kent, is also Lake Countys coroner. I went through a very bad crisis losing the baby, Cavanagh said. 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. Hess' mother, Shirley Koch, has also been indicted. Emmanuel Macron shared his vision of a renewed partnership with Africa in which it stands equal with France, as he concluded a tour where he has sought to dispel France's image as an arrogant former colonial power whilst bidding for future influence. They both plan to file complaints with the Department of Regulatory Affairs. In 2018, Schum got a call from FBI Special Agent John Busch, who told her that Sunset Mesa had sold not just her friend's body, but many others. 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. A A A Colorado-based funeral home director has been sentenced to 20 years in prison stemming from a litany of charges including fraud and illegally selling the body parts or bodies of approximately 500 individuals whose families did not consent to that practice. Koch's central role was chopping up the bodies, court records show. 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. 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. It is illegal to buy or sell organs such as hearts, kidneys and tendons for transplant. 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. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Take a look at some of Colorado's most notorious crimes. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. An Upstate New York funeral home proprietor is facing imminent criminal charges for allegedly keeping dead human bodies in "advanced states of decomposition" in his business and its detached garage, local officials announced Friday. Hess had created a nonprofit organization in 2009 called Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation as a body-broker service doing business as Donor Services, authorities said. John Wayne Gacy House: Now. A former Colorado funeral home owner has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on charges of fraud and selling body parts without permission. (REUTERS). They cut him up in pieces and sent them all over the place.. Donor Services has circulated a brochure that reads: Be a hero. 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. Kent kept giving excuses, Cavanagh said. Forty-fifth President and leading 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump has been exonerated of false claims from the radical left and the Biden administration that Trump was responsible for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, due to a rollback. Be an organ donor, a slogan often used by organ transplant advocates. Other charges against Hess will . Colorado regulators shut Sunset Mesa down in February 2018, KMGH-TV reported. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Charles Lynch to pay them a last tribute. 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. The scope of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home and Donor Services remains unclear at this time while investigators are trying to get a handle on that issue. Some of those family members are now questioning if the services were held free of charge while Donor Services sent some of the remains (body parts) to clients for payments without the knowledge and consent of family members. 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 legislation has support from the state's largest trade association for funeral homes, the Colorado Funeral Directors Association. 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. The price list is from an Arizona company shut down after an FBI raid five years ago. It was kinda creepy., It is totally unregulated, said Burg. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. Bailey-Kent Funeral Home, pictured at left, is one of two funeral homes owned by Shannon Kent now under criminal investigation. Learn more about Colorado true crime stories in the gallery below. 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. Seeing how this chapter is opening up again is incredible, its unbelievable. Body brokers sometimes market their services using language that could mislead prospective donors into believing the broker handles organ donations. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 4th 2023 at 10:30 AM at the First Church of the Nazarene (505 E Beatty Ave, Yuma, CO 80759). Hess, however, charged families to donate their bodies $195, plus $300 more if relatives want cremated remains returned. In cases like Schum's, where a family did agree to donate a body part, Hess sold more than she had permission to. . 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. felt they were too heavy to be those of a stillborn child, and submitted them for analysis. (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 parts. MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (WHTM) A Lancaster County funeral home and its director are facing formal disciplinary action and are under investigation by the state. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. The federal inquiry began several months ago, shortly after Reuters interviewed a half-dozen workers who formerly worked for Hess. The NBC10 Investigators found bodies inside an unlicensed funeral home in Chester, Pennsylvania. (If they've been left standing. Finally, after a month, she got Staci Kent on the phone and laid into her, asking why she hadnt heard anything about her sons cremains. In the late aughts, the town of Montrose, Colorado, made national headlines. Paul Hawthorne, Getty Images. Prosecutors said she lied to more than 200 families, who received cremated ashes from bins mixed with the remains of different cadavers. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. A spokeswoman for Donate LifeAmerica said in an email that Hesss firm is not a federally designated organ procurement organization and has no permission to use the Donate Life brand. Its for the good of the world, and I like to help people, Hess said. The judge ordered that Hess and Koch be sent to prison immediately. Just about any adult can run for coroner in Colorado. That individual, referred to in the order only as E.W., received no notice that the cremation would be done at the Gypsum funeral home, one of six locations Kent operates in Colorados high country. 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. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. The funeral home's owners, Megan Hess, 43, and her mother . 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. DENVER -- To many it is simply the unthinkable. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Kent also operates funeral homes in Silverthorne, Idaho Springs, Fairplay and Buena Vista. Reuters could not independently verify this figure. Suppliers of transplant tissue must obtain federal recognition and operate as charities. Staci Kent arrived to one of those death scenes without a body bag, which spurred an argument with authorities, the indictment notes. A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has been sentenced to 20 years in prison By The Associated Press January 4, 2023, 12:16 AM Heads went for $500 and $250 for a knee prices at significantly discounted rates compared to other body brokers. Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. I just figured it was a legitimate business., When asked by Denver7 if she ever heard bodies being dismembered, Hampson said, you could hear the machine going. Asked if that machine was a saw, she said, Yes, you could hear that in the room (a back room at the funeral home). A state investigation by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance now focuses on a Memphis funeral home that's also the focus of a Netflix reality show. In court on Tuesday, Hess declined to speak to the judge. Why Donor Services was unable to trace Dunlaps head remains unclear. Investigation into the allegations are ongoing with the Texas Funeral Services . Her 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. Prosecutors recommended a sentence for Hess of 12 to 15 years. They were affiliated with her funeral business. Its a profit business. The conflict of interest of having a side business in body parts just leads to problems. ), 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. Twenty-six victims described their horror at discovering what had happened to their loved ones. A Colorado funeral home is under federal investigation over accusations it doubled as a body broker firm, buying and selling human body parts, a Reuters special report revealed Tuesday. Funeral Director Daily take: I have a hard time fathoming what may have went on at this funeral home. After contacting Hess in December about the content of the brochure, Dolin said Hess told the organ transplant group that the brochure in question was old and has not been used for some time.. The Colorado Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration has no employees dedicated solely to it and an annual budget of less than $85,000. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Jeffersonville funeral home is under investigation after the owner allegedly got behind on processing bodies, which began stacking up for an unknown period of. 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. Her 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. 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. 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. Such a partnership may raise ethical concerns because it creates a financial incentive for the funeral home. Hess continues running a dual operation. Koch told the judge she was sorry and took responsibility for her actions. MONTROSE, Colo. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. Reuters could find no other operation active in the United States that houses a funeral home, crematory and body broker in the same facility and under the same ownership. Megan Hess, the owner of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, and her parents are now under investigation by the FBI. High Country News reports that, duringthe initial investigation, the FBI tested 128 samples of remains tied to Sunset Mesa. She said that one month she got about $40,000 from selling donated bodies. Colorado regulators have shut down the funeral home. Pictures show bodies stacked in hallways and unrefrigerated rental trucks. 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. You know, they can't put his head back on his body, they can't put his arms and legs back on his body. When asked if it contained her husbands cremains, she said, I dont know.. and Cavanagh, Reh had an immensely difficult time reaching the Kents, the phone ringing unanswered for weeks. . Hess committed crimes, prosecutors said, when she defrauded relatives of the deceased by lying about cremations and by dissecting bodies and selling them without permission. 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. However, there was more going on beneath the surface. Some former staff members of Sunset Mesa said they never heard Hess disclose to donors that the bodies would be sold for profit. The Donor Services brochure was criticized as deceptive by two major U.S. organ donation groups after Reuters shared it with them. a contrarian view? 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. But two said Hess sometimes bragged about how lucrative it was to sell bodies and body parts. 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. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity, Donor Services, from the same building in Montrose, Colorado. The body was identified as that of 42 . Ducks, Used body bags, medical gloves and other surgical equipment with dried bodily fluid on them piled on the floor, Bodily fluids leaking out of a body bag containing an individual who had not been refrigerated, A container of animal remains leaking fluids, Several bodies in refrigeration wrapped in sheets or blankets without identifying tags or paperwork, An unmarked casket containing a stillborn infant that was abandoned, the suspension order states, Paperwork scattered several feet deep on the floor. I didnt believe in depression until I lost my baby, Cavanagh said. In Colorado and most other states, it also is legal for funeral homes to sell items recovered from dead bodies, such as gold dental work. . As you likely know by now, Diamond of the famous 'Diamond and Silk' sister duo, has passed away at the young age of only 51. She told Contact7 Investigates that she heard bodies being dismembered. Peck was given another six months of probation. Hancock is one of more than five dozen family members currently suing the family that operated the now shut-down Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. by Mr. Leadville | Oct 26, 2020 | Leadville News. This whole situation, oh, I thought it was part of my past.. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. With a population of about 20,000, Montrose is a community surrounded by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. At Donor Services, her body parts business, Hess can generate a greater return on the dead, a different price list reviewed by Reuters showed. A few days later, she was able to pick up the cremains, but like E.W., Cavanagh received no paperwork. The Denver attorney is referring to the limited and nonexistent regulation nationwide and worldwide regarding the procurement and selling of bodies and body parts. The New York Times, a far-left outlet, admitted in a report that Trump's rollback of a rule from President Barack According to the Johnstown, N.Y. Police Department, Brian M. Barnett, 35, who owns the since-shuttered Ehle . Records from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies showthis was not the first time Kent has been in the crosshairs of state regulators. She has been told parts of her husbands body were sold on the world-wide market. Its really an underground industry that most people dont know about, said attorney Michael Burg. 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. Did you ever consent to have this family mutilate your husbands body? asked Denver7. The FBI hired a lab to test the cremains given to the families, and they have determined the boxes of ash contain cement, sand and other non-human particles. 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. I told them it didnt make sense, Mabry said. It comes on the heels of a law passed in 2020 that. All rights reserved. And it is not against the law to operate a so-called body broker firm from the same facility that houses a funeral home and crematory. It was kind of creepy.. Hess is tentatively set to be sentenced in January. Andrew Scheid has been the director at . It is illegal in the United States to sell organs such as hearts, kidneys and tendons for transplant; they must be donated. This compassionate help is the essence of what we do. During her speech at Diamond's funeral, her partner in crime, Silk, implied that there was foul play involved in her death and urged for an investigation. Like many, Hanson found out about her son Frederick during a phone call from an FBI agent. One of Hesss donors was Rex Dunlap, a frugal Coloradan battling brain cancer. 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 parts without permission. 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. Thousands more patients could benefit from life saving and healing eye and tissue donations.. It is a business and it is a profit business, added Burg. . 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. Ive had nightmares about it, said Fredericka Freddie Hancock. On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. . did not receive a contract for funeral services, and only received the cremains after several calls to Kent, the order states. 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.
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