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Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. 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. Fo 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. Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. 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. A funeral home in Crapaud, Prince Edward Island is under RCMP investigation for allegations of financial irregularities. 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. Such multipurpose operations raise ethical concerns, several funeral industry veterans said. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. ThinkStock via Getty Images. Thats when E.W. Body brokering is not illegal in Colorado; however, a 2020 Denver7 report noted that Hess, along with her mother, were donating bodies without the consent of the deceased's family. Feb 4, 2023, 5:26 PM SGT. . 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. The name of the state is derived form the Spanish . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The federal inquiry began several months ago, shortly after Reuters interviewed a half-dozen workers who formerly worked for Hess. They were affiliated with her funeral business. 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. 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). Two Colorado funeral homes are under criminal investigation after authorities found a unrefrigerated body and learned that at least one family had received a stillborn's cremains mixed. It is also the only state that doesnt license funeral directors. Shannon and Staci Kent, 45, of Leadville were charged on Friday with attempted tampering with a deceased human body. The Denver attorney is referring to the limited and nonexistent regulation nationwide and worldwide regarding the procurement and selling of bodies and body parts. These illegitimate businesses are buying and selling body parts just like anything off the shelf at Walmart, added Teselle. The funeral home's owners, Megan Hess, 43, and her mother . 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. Like many, Hanson found out about her son Frederick during a phone call from an FBI agent. Megan Hess, the owner of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, and her parents are now under investigation by the FBI. . DALLAS The Texas Funeral Service Commission says it has opened an investigation into allegations of the mishandling of corpses at one of the most high-profile mortuaries in the state. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. They desecrated his little body, she said. She was sold, embalmed and shipped out within just a few hours of her death, said Holloman. The Bailey-Kent Funeral Home was the only option given to her for cremation under a certain weight, she said. 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. Shannon and Staci Kent did not respond to interview requests from The Denver Post. 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. The couple got dressed up in matching outfits and brought a special camera. Thats when E.W. N.Y. As funeral directors, while we dont do everything perfect, we should have the best interest of our client families at heart. She showed me her collection of gold teeth one day, said Escher, who helped manage a former cremation-marketing business owned by Hess. Authorities are now investigating. 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. The investigation of Kents funeral homes began in February after the sheriffs office received a complaint by a client regarding the handling of human remains. 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. There, authorities also found dried bodily fluid on surgical equipment, the metal preparation table, and the floor. The article also tells about how Sunset Mesa Funeral Home handled some services free of charge. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? 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. Subscribe today to see what all the buzz is about. We were greeted at the door by her father, who told us to leave the property. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. He covers everything from stolen art and towing to mobile homes and quirky stories that defy category. The Unaffiliated is our twice-weekly newsletter on Colorado politics and policy. Her father, Alan Koch, ran the crematory, Hess said. Paul Hawthorne, Getty Images. A few days later, she was able to pick up the cremains, but like E.W., Cavanagh received no paperwork. In the late aughts, the town of Montrose, Colorado, made national headlines. "No, I did not," Hancock responded. Staci Kent, however, wouldnt let them see the baby, Reh said. Along with it would be a note reading: Heres looking at you. The rest of his ashes would be buried with Dunlaps mother in Denver. Body brokers sometimes market their services using language that could mislead prospective donors into believing the broker handles organ donations. They cut him up in pieces and sent them all over the place.. by Mr. Leadville | Oct 26, 2020 | Leadville News. In Colorado, the states organ donation program, Donor Alliance, said Hesss marketing language could be confusing to people.. Officials also found the "post-cremation remains" of 16 people, according . Non-compete agreements, Customer Experience, Community Engagement. 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. Its a profit business. No one would pick up the phone. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. 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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. 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. They both plan to file complaints with the Department of Regulatory Affairs. The home, located at 8215 W. Summerdale Ave., was sold for just shy of $400,000 in May 2021. Be an organ donor, a slogan often used by organ transplant advocates. There are currently 350 funeral home listings for the state of Colorado and we provide all the cemetery information for the state as well. The Donor Services brochure was criticized as deceptive by two major U.S. organ donation groups after Reuters shared it with them. What You Need To Know. I thought it was something that needs to be corrected," said state Senator Larry Crowder, one of the bills sponsors. The focus and extent of the federal probe into the Hess operation is unclear, and the FBI also declined to comment. The Green Funeral. The attorney, Carol Viner, asked Reuters to refrain from contacting Hess employees for any reason.. By: Tony Kovaleski Posted at 6:00 PM, Oct 31, 2019 In February of 2018, Colorado regulators shut down the funeral home at the same time the FBI was investigating claims families did not receive the real cremains of their loved ones. Her 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. Kent also still faces second-degree official misconduct charges stemming from a September 2019 grand jury indictment in the Fifth Judicial District. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. It was kinda creepy., It is totally unregulated, said Burg. Two funeral homes owned by Lake County Coroner Shannon Kent are under investigation after law enforcement earlier this month found an unrefrigerated body, an abandoned stillborn infant, bags of unl Other charges against Hess will be dropped under a plea agreement, the Sentinel said. 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 by fingerprints as Victor Akubuo, 42, from Southern . The suspension order details a 2019 instance in which an unnamed individual arranged with Kents funeral home for the cremation of their stillborn child. Golden Gate Funeral Home in Dallas is accused of a range of misdeeds, from not embalming or refrigerating bodies in a . 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. Hancocks story started after her husband, Thomas, passed away. 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. 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. Enter your email address to join 3,177 readers who subscribe to all Funeral Director articles. Thank you, she said before ending the call. Chantal Reh, an Avon resident, went through a similar experience when she suffered a stillborn birth in August 2018. Nursing Home Under Investigation After Woman Declared Dead Found Breathing at Funeral Home The incident happened at the Water's Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson, the. Kent also still faces second-degree official misconduct charges stemming from a September 2019 grand jury indictment in the Fifth Judicial District. Reuters Investigates offers several ways to securely contact our reporters. A body bag was found to be leaking bodily fluids along with a container of animal remains which was also leaking fluids. At Sunset Mesa, Hess charged $1,995 for a simple burial and $695 for a basic cremation, according to price lists reviewed by Reuters. In court on Tuesday, Hess declined to speak to the judge. This comes after a dozen . Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. As she mourned the loss of her son, Cavanagh was referred to the Kent Funeral Home in Gypsum to do the cremation. You are not looking at the full disposition (of a body). Think about it, the FBI came in and raided them, and they raided them because they knew this body broker this was getting bigger and bigger and bigger, said Berg. But the business arrangement is highly unusual. Thousands more patients could benefit from life saving and healing eye and tissue donations.. I told them it didnt make sense, Mabry said. 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. 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. I see his body parts floating in space and I keep trying to grab them and put him back and I can't! "We don't even have a name for a crime this heinous. Former workers told Reuters that Hess and Koch conducted unauthorized dismemberments of bodies, and a few weeks after a 2018 story was published, the FBI raided the business. The judge ordered that Hess and Koch be sent to prison immediately. The Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors and Donor Services building in Montrose, Colorado, U.S., December 16, 2017. Body snatcher, vile, pure evil, sociopath, are the words they used when asked to describe Hess. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "Our sweet mother, they dismembered her," Erin Smith said, selling her shoulders, knees and feet for profit. 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. But days went by and she couldnt reach anyone. But experts say its the underground black market that also contributes to the increased demand for body parts. It was kind of creepy.. Her funeral home site listed her credentials, including a PhD in mortuary science. Propel Funeral Partners makes acquisitions. and Cavanagh, Reh had an immensely difficult time reaching the Kents, the phone ringing unanswered for weeks. 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. 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. Subscribe to Funeral Director Daily At Donor Services, her body parts business, Hess can generate a greater return on the dead, a different price list reviewed by Reuters showed. That's part of my nightmare. 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. The news agency had also sent written questions to Hess and her attorney about Kochs alleged handling of gold teeth. 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. Kent kept giving excuses, Cavanagh said. 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.. 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. She said she and her mother, Koch, handled about 10 cadavers a month in the back room. Its for the good of the world, and I like to help people, Hess said. And much like E.W. No such degree exists in the United States for morticians, veteran funeral directors say. Authorities also uncovered multiple refrigerated bodies which were wrapped in sheets or blankets but did not have any tags or paperwork identifying them. The Daily Sentinel reports that Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. Mabry said Koch told him the glass eye couldnt be removed after Dunlaps head was severed, embalmed and shipped to researchers. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. Andrew Scheid has been the director at . Reuters could not independently verify this figure. That means almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human remains. Kent also operates funeral homes in Silverthorne, Idaho Springs, Fairplay and Buena Vista. 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. 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. 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. 06, 2021. In another call two months later, Staci Kent responded to a death scene without a body bag, the indictment states, which led to an argument with law enforcement. Colorado regulators can now inspect funeral homes and crematories without owners' permission The state has long had some of the laxest laws in the nation surrounding funeral homes Joe. Extra charges are assessed if a body is embalmed or a funeral director is involved. 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. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. She says Shirley Koch came to pick up his body. 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.