Women who sold body parts out of their Colorado funeral home are 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. Few state laws provide any oversight. Instead of paying the standard $695 cremation fee to Colorado Cremation, Hesss former cremation marketing business, Dunlap paid Hess $495 to take his body. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. Woman Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Selling Body Parts This compassionate help is the essence of what we do. 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 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. Reuters Investigates offers several ways to securely contact our reporters. 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. The next year,. In the late aughts, the town of Montrose, Colorado, made national headlines. Propel Funeral Partners makes acquisitions. Fells called running such a multifaceted operation a new frontier., Through the attorney, Hess declined to comment for this story and didnt address questions about the FBI probe, her business practices, and the allegations by former employees. Chantal Reh, an Avon resident, went through a similar experience when she suffered a stillborn birth in August 2018. The attorney, Carol Viner, asked Reuters to refrain from contacting Hess employees for any reason.. The. Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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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. 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. Shannon and Staci Kent did not respond to interview requests from The Denver Post. Police investigating Pocatello funeral home - KTVB Instead, the media was interested in the dark history behind the town's funeral home, Sunset Mesa. The friend would then place the glass eye in an urn containing half of Dunlaps ashes and bury the urn atop the grave of Dunlaps father in Telluride, Colorado. Colorado funeral home owners sentenced to federal prison for selling In Colorado, there are few regulations to catch shoddy behavior, such as illegitimate body trading, by mortuaries. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. Body of complaints piled up: State knew of funeral home concerns long I thought it was something that needs to be corrected," said state Senator Larry Crowder, one of the bills sponsors. A Colorado funeral home is under federal investigation over accusations it doubledas a body broker firm, buying and selling human body parts, aReuters special report revealedTuesday. The conflict of interest of having a side business in body parts just leads to problems, said Steve Palmer, a funeral director in Cottonwood, Arizona, and former member of the policy board at the National Funeral Directors Association. Colorado woman sentenced to 20 years for stealing, selling body parts Funeral homes are required to register with the state, but spokesman Rasizer said the regulatory affairs department is not authorized to inspect mortuaries. Colorado funeral home operators sentenced for selling body parts 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. Montrose funeral home owner who allegedly sold - The Colorado Sun 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. ", Tina Shanon, whose mother was dismembered against her will, told the court, "I've worn many masks to cover the pain. As a result, Peck and his funeral home were required to pay a $2,500 fine and $5,000 in investigative costs and attorney fees. It is unbelievable, said Dave Teselle, a Denver-based attorney who represents Hancock and more than five dozen other families in a claim against the owners of Sunset Mesa and the companies who are accused of buying the body parts. 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. All rights reserved. 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. Records from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies showthis was not the first time Kent has been in the crosshairs of state regulators. 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. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity, Donor Services, from the same building in Montrose, Colorado. Colorado regulators shut Sunset Mesa down in February 2018, KMGH-TV reported. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Market data provided by Factset. Colo. funeral home accused of doubling as body parts broker - KMGH 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. 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. The price list is from an Arizona company shut down after an FBI raid five years ago. Twenty-five of the brokers were for-profit corporations. According to the Johnstown, N.Y. Police Department, Brian M. Barnett, 35, who owns the since-shuttered Ehle . 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. Now the women wonder how many others might have had the same experience. Thank you for thinking of me.. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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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