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. . 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. 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. 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. Pettyjohn now lives with the memory of what happened to the body of her 26-year-old son, Brian. A change of plea hearing for Koch is scheduled for July 12. According to Jeffersonville Police Major Isaac Parker, the department began its investigation of the Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville on Friday. 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. A judge sentenced a Colorado funeral-home owner who carved up corpses and sold parts of them without families' permission to 20 years in prison on Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice. The true-crime podcast "Criminal," which covered the story in its 131st episode, reports that when Grand Junction resident Debbie Schum visited Sunset Mesa after the death of her friend in 2017, the funeral home's director, Megan Hess, told Schum that she could not provide cremation services unless Schum paid her $1,000 upfront. It can't be fixed, said Hancock. There are currently 350 funeral home listings for the state of Colorado and we provide all the cemetery information for the state as well. It was kind of creepy.. Burg and Teselles law firm is currently suing body brokers in both Colorado and Arizona. Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Records from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies showthis was not the first time Kent has been in the crosshairs of state regulators. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our. The couple got dressed up in matching outfits and brought a special camera. I know these are not his ashes because his body parts went all over the country, Hanson said. Its sickening, said Hanson. 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. This compassionate help is the essence of what we do. The conflict of interest of having a side business in body parts just leads to problems. Her 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. Megan Hess, the former operator of a Montrose funeral home convicted of selling body parts without family consent, was . Her funeral home site listed her credentials, including a PhD in mortuary science. 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. Shannon and Staci Kent did not respond to interview requests from The Denver Post. Officials also found the "post-cremation remains" of 16 people, according . MONTROSE, Colo. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. Further, the van was holding two other bodies that needed to be removed.. GYPSUM The operating license for Kent Funeral Home in Gypsum has been summarily suspended by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies following an investigation that revealed disturbing conditions at an associated funeral home in Leadville. Hess, 45, and her mother, Shirley Koch, operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. [the FBI told me] his head was sent to so and so. The surgical-training companies and other firms which bought the arms, legs, heads and torsos from Hess did not know they had been fraudulently obtained, prosecutors said. 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. POCATELLO, Idaho A Pocatello funeral home under investigation by the Idaho Board of Morticians has had its licenses revoked. "It's concerning to the court that defendant Hess refuses to assume any responsibility for her conduct.". 06, 2021. Its really an underground industry that most people dont know about, said attorney Michael Burg. Colo. funeral home accused of doubling as body parts broker - KMGH No federal law prohibits the buying and selling of human body parts to be used in research and education. The article also tells about how Sunset Mesa Funeral Home handled some services free of charge. There are no ethics there when you do that. A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. heres a recap of our months top stories, Carriage Services reports Services and Revenue drops in 2022. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Montrose funeral home owner who allegedly sold - The Colorado Sun The charges defray the cost of picking up the deceased, she said in the 2016 interview. After receiving the cremains, E.W. 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. Staci Kent, however, wouldnt let them see the baby, Reh said. 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 State investigates 'Buried by the Bernards' funeral home - WREG.com 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. 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. Colorado funeral home operators sentenced for selling body parts parents are now under investigation by the FBI. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! There are no ethics there when you do that. TX Funeral Service Commission Investigating Golden Gate - Spectrum News 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 . 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. The New York Times, a far-left outlet, admitted in a report that Trump's rollback of a rule from President Barack 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. 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 Donor Services brochure was criticized as deceptive by two major U.S. organ donation groups after Reuters shared it with them. Meme Eberspacher, Dunlaps niece, was at his bedside the night that Dunlap died. Finally Reh and her boyfriend went to the funeral home with the expectation that they would see their baby. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Weeks passed before Hess told him that Donor Services couldnt retrieve the glass eye because the company couldnt locate the researcher who received Dunlaps head, Mabry said. some timely learning opportunities for our readers, Dont forget Low-tech to build your brand. felt they were too heavy to be those of a stillborn child, and submitted them for analysis. 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. Crapaud funeral home being investigated for allegations of financial 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. 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. by Mr. Leadville | Oct 26, 2020 | Leadville News. Separate from the FBI inquiry, Reuters has learned that Colorado state funeral regulators are investigating Hesss funeral home, Sunset Mesa. Funeral home owner who dismembered corpses, sold body parts sentenced Colorado funeral home owner sentenced in body sales case Such a partnership may raise ethical concerns because it creates a financial incentive for the funeral home. There, authorities also found dried bodily fluid on surgical equipment, the metal preparation table, and the floor. It was kinda creepy., It is totally unregulated, said Burg. Holloman now deals with the guilt of knowing details of what happened to her moms body. Colorado Funeral Home Caught Selling Bodies Intended For Cremation 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. 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.. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. Colorado regulators have shut down the funeral home. Staci Kent arrived to one of those death scenes without a body bag, which spurred an argument with authorities, the indictment notes. Indiana funeral home fell behind on processing bodies, which began to The Daily Sentinel reportsthat Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. Hiring funeral directors: Do you look for IQ or EQ? Updated: 8:07 PM MDT September 14, 2021. Colorado woman sentenced to 20 years for stealing, selling body parts Other charges against Hess will . As she mourned the loss of her son, Cavanagh was referred to the Kent Funeral Home in Gypsum to do the cremation. The lawsuit estimates the three were making $40,000 a month from the sale of body parts. In one instance, on March 10, 2019, Staci Kent was significantly delayed to the scene because the van she was using to pick up the body had a dead battery, bald tires and was buried in snow, prosecutors alleged. In court on Tuesday, Hess declined to speak to the judge. All rights reserved. Funeral home owners charged with desecrating human remains The home, located at 8215 W. Summerdale Ave., was sold for just shy of $400,000 in May 2021. 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. Owner of funeral home under investigation had history of violations Colorado funeral home known for history of misconduct | AP News FBI scrutinizes funeral home that also makes money selling - Reuters 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.