Subscribe to Funeral Director Daily 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. I didnt believe in depression until I lost my baby, Cavanagh said. John Wayne Gacy House: Now. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. In the late aughts, the town of Montrose, Colorado, made national headlines. ", Tina Shanon, whose mother was dismembered against her will, told the court, "I've worn many masks to cover the pain. According to theDenver Post, prosecutors reached a plea agreement with Hess this year regarding a 2020 indictment against her and her mother. Sam Tabachnik is a roving reporter for The Denver Post, focusing on stories outside metro Denver. I told them it didnt make sense, Mabry said. The gruesome details of the case which authorities say included more than 500 victims drew international attention and shined a light on the . 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. Hess runs Sunset Mesa, a funeral home, and Donor Services, a body broker operation from the same building in Montrose. I didnt believe in depression until I lost my baby, Cavanagh said. 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. . 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. The federal inquiry began several months ago, shortly after Reuters interviewed a half-dozen workers who formerly worked for Hess. Kent also operates funeral homes in Silverthorne, Idaho Springs, Fairplay and Buena Vista. some timely learning opportunities for our readers, Dont forget Low-tech to build your brand. 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. No federal law prohibits the buying and selling of human body parts to be used in research and education. The body was identified as that of 42 . There are people and businesses who spend millions and millions of dollars," Teselle added, "trafficking in these body parts as if they were nothing more than cans of soup or loaves of bread., I was pretty shocked, said Jacque Hampson, a former employee of the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. Peck was given another six months of probation. The article also tells about how Sunset Mesa Funeral Home handled some services free of charge. 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. 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. Megan Hess, a former Colorado funeral home director, chopped up over 500 . There are currently 350 funeral home listings for the state of Colorado and we provide all the cemetery information for the state as well. 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. We were greeted at the door by her father, who told us to leave the property. 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. 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. and Cavanagh, Reh had an immensely difficult time reaching the Kents, the phone ringing unanswered for weeks. It is also the only state that doesnt license funeral directors. . At Donor Services, her body parts business, Hess can generate a greater return on the dead, a different price list reviewed by Reuters showed. Officials also found the "post-cremation remains" of 16 people, according . But no federal law governs the sale of cadavers or body parts for use in research or education. The couple got dressed up in matching outfits and brought a special camera. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. (REUTERS). Neither addressed the issue about the teeth. The judge ordered that Hess and Koch be sent to prison immediately. Legal Statement. 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. Seeing how this chapter is opening up again is incredible, its unbelievable. The Daily Sentinel reportsthat Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. The most expensive prices were for an upper torso that included a head and arms ($4,000) and the cost of an entire body was $5,000, according to the price list. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. 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. Pictures show bodies stacked in hallways and unrefrigerated rental trucks. Updated: 8:07 PM MDT September 14, 2021. Downard Funeral Home Under Investigation, ISU Involved There are many events that have unfolded over the past couple weeks involving Downard Funeral Home, some including Idaho State University (ISU). Reuters began examining the Hess companies more than a year ago as part of the news agencys exploration of the human body trade, a virtually unregulated industry that largely operates in the shadows. Bailey-Kent Funeral Home, pictured at left, is one of two funeral homes owned by Shannon Kent now under criminal investigation. When Reuters reported earlier this year about the unusual twin businesses of owner Megan Hess, federal agents raided the facility and state regulators ordered the funeral home to be shut down. Her 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. The attorney, Carol Viner, asked Reuters to refrain from contacting Hess employees for any reason.. On dozens of occasions, Hess and Koch transferred bodies or body parts to third parties for research without families knowledge, according to the U.S. Justice Department. High Country News reports that, duringthe initial investigation, the FBI tested 128 samples of remains tied to Sunset Mesa. 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. The. 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. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. 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. Prosecutors recommended a sentence for Hess of 12 to 15 years. There are no ethics there when you do that. What You Need To Know. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. 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 At the nursing home, Eberspacher said she reminded Koch that the glass eye was supposed to be returned and suggested it be popped out there. 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. Separate from the FBI inquiry, Reuters has learned that Colorado state funeral regulators are investigating Hess's funeral home, Sunset Mesa. I said I dont want to hear anymore.. Records from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies showthis was not the first time Kent has been in the crosshairs of state regulators. And much like E.W. As she mourned the loss of her son, Cavanagh was referred to the Kent Funeral Home in Gypsum to do the cremation. One of Hesss donors was Rex Dunlap, a frugal Coloradan battling brain cancer. Hess' lawyer said she has been unfairly vilified as a "witch," a "monster" and a "ghoul," when instead she is a "broken human being" whose conduct can be attributed to a traumatic brain injury at age 18. They were arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. Ive been violated, said Alena Holloman. 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. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Unfortunately, the attention wasn't focused on the town's natural beauty or tourism opportunities. 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. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. Below, find out where 25 of the most infamous crimes in history took place and what the locations are used for today. The owners of that funeral home are facing charges of desecrating human remains more than four months after investigators found the body, which had been stored in a non-refrigerated room for years. The Bailey-Kent Funeral Home was the only option given to her for cremation under a certain weight, she said. Kent kept giving excuses, Cavanagh said. Golden Gate's owner denies all allegations. On July 2, Jeffersonville Police officials announced dozens of bodies were found decomposing inside a funeral home in the Southern Indiana city, just across the river from Louisville. 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. All rights reserved. After reading the states suspension order this week, two women told The Denver Post that the circumstances surrounding E.W. sound eerily familiar. Responding to the investigations and details reported out of Montrose, Colorado lawmakers could become the first in the country to pass a law making it illegal for funeral home or crematory owners to operate as a body broker. 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. (Google). 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. The price list is from an Arizona company shut down after an FBI raid five years ago. Few state laws provide any oversight. Instead, the media was interested in the dark history behind the town's funeral home, Sunset Mesa. 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. Details of Shannon Kents operations come on the heels of a Montrose funeral home that made international headlines in 2018 after an FBI raid and subsequent two-year investigation. Email: newsroom@coloradosun.com Colorado does not regulate body brokers. Andrew Scheid has been the director at . 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. According to High Country News, Hess was running the funeral home in conjunction with a non-profit called Donor Services Inc., through which she sold "donated" body parts to companies a practice referred to as body brokering. Her father, Alan Koch, ran the crematory, Hess said. In 2020, authorities charged the two with mail fraud and illegal transportation of hazardous materials. Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to fraud in July. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. The lawsuit claims the three sold torsos for $1,000, a pelvis with upper legs for $1,200. 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. First published on Wed 6 Jul 2022 10.36 EDT. 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. Instead of paying the standard $695 cremation fee to . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Now the women wonder how many others might have had the same experience. by Mr. Leadville | Oct 26, 2020 | Leadville News. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. There is even more money to be made in dissecting those bodies and selling the parts. Reached by phone at Sunset Mesa, Koch said she did not wish to talk with a Reuters reporter. Two months later, after hearing nothing from Hess, Schum went to Sunset Mesa to retrieve her friend's ashes. 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. A few days later, she was able to pick up the cremains, but like E.W., Cavanagh received no paperwork. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Charles Lynch to pay them a last tribute. Burg and Teselles law firm is currently suing body brokers in both Colorado and Arizona. Sunset Mesa, like all other funeral homes in Colorado, is required by state law to have a death certificate filed with the vital records office before obtaining a disposition permit. Learn more about Colorado true crime stories in the gallery below. After a reporter asked questions about the websiteand her background, Hess removed the Add to Cart donation pages from her cremation website and cut the mention of the mortuary science degree from her online biography. 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. ThinkStock via Getty Images. Fo 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. Other charges against Hess will be dropped under a plea agreement, the Sentinel said. . 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. Reuters could not independently verify this figure. ", Funeral home remains under federal investigation. In their filing, prosecutors stressed the "macabre nature" of Hess' scheme and described it as one of the most significant body parts cases in recent U.S. history. The lawsuit estimates the three were making $40,000 a month from the sale of body parts. She has been told parts of her husbands body were sold on the world-wide market. The suspension order details a 2019 instance in which an unnamed individual arranged with Kents funeral home for the cremation of their stillborn child. Contact7 Chief Investigative Reporter Tony Kovaleski traveled to Montrose and talked to more than a half dozen family members now victims about what they describe as a scheme to profit from their pain. 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. No one would pick up the phone. SENTINEL FILE PHOTO Sisters Layna and Janet Hutt hold photos of their father, Raymond Hutt, who died in 2016 at the age of 96. Prosecutors said she lied to more than 200 families, who received cremated ashes from bins mixed with the remains of different cadavers. A former employee has alleged misconduct regarding the disposal of the deceased at Golden Gate Funeral Home in Dallas. However, there was more going on beneath the surface. Such a partnership may raise ethical concerns because it creates a financial incentive for the funeral home. . are acquisitions larger in general? Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. The couple got dressed up in matching outfits and brought a special camera. Bailey-Kent Funeral Home, pictured at left, is one of two funeral homes owned by Shannon Kent now under criminal investigation. Hess, 45, and her mother, Shirley Koch, operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. Twenty-five of the brokers were for-profit corporations. Holloman now deals with the guilt of knowing details of what happened to her moms body. Earlier this month, authorities from both Lake and Eagle counties encountered a strong odor of decomposition when they searched the Leadville funeral home, reads. 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. This whole situation, oh, I thought it was part of my past.. The transfers were done through Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation and Donor Services, authorities said. None of the former employees or associates Reuters interviewed worked directly for the body broker business. One ex-employee, Kari Escher, said she was especially troubled by the practices of Hesss mother, Shirley Koch, who works at the facility. Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to fraud in July. Records from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies showthis was not the first time Kent has been in the crosshairs of state regulators. Subscribe today to see what all the buzz is about. Shannon and Staci Kent did not respond to interview requests from The Denver Post. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Did you ever consent to have this family mutilate your husbands body? asked Denver7. MONTROSE, Colo. (CBS4) - Federal authorities raided a funeral home in Montrose on Tuesday, at which the owner is under investigation for a side-business donating bodies for education and.
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