Colorado Ordway Funeral Homes Eaton Family Funeral Home Eaton Family Funeral Home in Ordway 202 E 3rd St Ordway, CO 81063 (719) 267-4221 Click to show location on map Zoom About Eaton Family Funeral Home We understand that losing a loved one can be a very stressful time. 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. 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. 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. 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. Woman Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Selling Body Parts Its really an underground industry that most people dont know about, said attorney Michael Burg. "This is the most emotionally draining. 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. Legal Statement. 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. Funeral home owner who dismembered corpses, sold body parts sentenced 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. 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 Kent is already facing charges of perjury and official misconduct for sending wife Staci Kent, who is not authorized to act as a deputy coroner, to death scenes on at least three occasions, according to a September 2019 grand jury indictment. And much like E.W. Kent kept giving excuses, Cavanagh said. In court on Tuesday, Hess declined to speak to the judge. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Buyers ranged from educators and scientists to individuals in the medical industry. It was kinda creepy., It is totally unregulated, said Burg. The owner of the funeral homes, Shannon Kent, is also Lake Countys coroner. 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. Further, the van was holding two other bodies that needed to be removed.. Golden Gate Funeral Home in Dallas is accused of a range of misdeeds, from not embalming or refrigerating bodies in a . There are no ethics there when you do that. some timely learning opportunities for our readers, Dont forget Low-tech to build your brand. Megan Hess & Shirley Koch Sunset Mesa Funeral Home body parts scam 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. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. The Green Funeral. 'None of this happened the way you think it did' - High Country News 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. Thats when E.W. No such degree exists in the United States for morticians, veteran funeral directors say. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. parents are now under investigation by the FBI. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. heres a recap of our months top stories, Carriage Services reports Services and Revenue drops in 2022. 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. 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. An indictment filed last week by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver alleges 43-year-old Megan Hess, of Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors and Donor Services, harvested body parts from hundreds of dead people without any authorization from their families. Megan Hess, a former Colorado funeral home director, chopped up over 500 . They both plan to file complaints with the Department of Regulatory Affairs. At the focal point of the FBI probe: funeral director Megan Hess, who did not return Fox News request for a comment. "Hess and Koch's conduct caused immense emotional pain for the families and next of kin.". Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. A former Colorado funeral home operator has pleaded guilty to stealing and then selling hundreds of human bodies or body parts to people who were buying the remains for scientific, medical or . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. You are not looking at the full disposition (of a body). SENTINEL FILE PHOTO Sisters Layna and Janet Hutt hold photos of their father, Raymond Hutt, who died in 2016 at the age of 96. 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. N.Y. Nursing Home Under Investigation After Woman Declared Dead Found Investigation into the allegations are ongoing with the Texas Funeral Services . Koch said she had sold a different batch a year prior, and they took the whole family to Disneyland in California on the gold that they cashed in, Escher said. Amid FBI investigation, state closes case on Montrose funeral home A Colorado funeral home operator who was accused of selling and stealing body parts pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Tuesday, the US justice department . Kent also operates funeral homes in Silverthorne, Idaho Springs, Fairplay and Buena Vista. With a population of about 20,000, Montrose is a community surrounded by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. (McGovern said no industry regulated by the Division of Professions and Occupations has regulators assigned exclusively to it.) Chantal Reh, an Avon resident, went through a similar experience when she suffered a stillborn birth in August 2018. A few days later, she was able to pick up the cremains, but like E.W., Cavanagh received no paperwork. 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. 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. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. The 20-year term was the maximum allowed under law. 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. Holloman now deals with the guilt of knowing details of what happened to her moms body. 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. Investigators discovered 31 dead bodies, some of which were in advanced stages of decomposition. Denver attorneys Mike Berg and Dave Teselle now represent more than 50 families who claim Hess and her parents victimized them. The New York Times, a far-left outlet, admitted in a report that Trump's rollback of a rule from President Barack According to Reuters Sunset Mesa Funeral Home had seen their call volume increase from 59 in 2015 to 128 in 2017. First published on Wed 6 Jul 2022 10.36 EDT. These illegitimate businesses are buying and selling body parts just like anything off the shelf at Walmart, added Teselle. 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. Megan Hess, the owner of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, and her parents are now under investigation by the FBI. In mid-March, Kent received a letter of admonition" from the Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration after unembalmed, unrefrigerated remains were found in the Gypsum funeral home over 24 hours after the person had died. 2011 Tucson shooting - Wikipedia The lawsuit claims the three sold torsos for $1,000, a pelvis with upper legs for $1,200. 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. 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. They were affiliated with her funeral business. All rights reserved. Colorado funeral home owner Megan Hess and her mother who sold body 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. 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. At Donor Services, her body parts business, Hess can generate a greater return on the dead, a different price list reviewed by Reuters showed. It is a business and it is a profit business, added Burg. Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to fraud in July 2022 after a 2018 investigation that exposed her for selling parts of dead bodies that were brought to the funeral home for cremation. 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. TX Funeral Service Commission Investigating Golden Gate - Spectrum News 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. Be an organ donor, a slogan often used by organ transplant advocates. She said she and her mother, Koch, handled about 10 cadavers a month in the back room. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Hess made donating a body online easy. felt they were too heavy to be those of a stillborn child, and submitted them for analysis. 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. And much like E.W. Below, find out where 25 of the most infamous crimes in history took place and what the locations are used for today. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. I thought it was something that needs to be corrected," said state Senator Larry Crowder, one of the bills sponsors. Reached by phone at Sunset Mesa, Koch said she did not wish to talk with a Reuters reporter. Why Donor Services was unable to trace Dunlaps head remains unclear. Donating bodies, selling the parts: Frequently asked questions. 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. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. The other nine were structured as nonprofits, including Donor Services the only broker Reuters could find that still doubles as a funeral home. 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. The federal case was triggered by a 2016-2018 Reuters investigative series about the sale of body parts in the United States, a virtually unregulated industry. You could hear the machine going, she told Kovaleski. Thats when E.W. did not receive a contract for funeral services, and only received the cremains after several calls to Kent, the order states. 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. 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). Subscribe to Funeral Director Daily Some former staff members of Sunset Mesa said they never heard Hess disclose to donors that the bodies would be sold for profit. 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. Ive had nightmares about it, said Fredericka Freddie Hancock. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Its a community struggling to understand the stories and the accusations about what happened in the back room at Sunset Mesa. In an interview in 2016, she described Donor Services as a small, family business. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. MONTROSE, Colo. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. Hess runs Sunset Mesa, a funeral home, and Donor Services, a body broker operation from the same building in Montrose. 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. That's part of my nightmare. A few days later, she was able to pick up the cremains, but like E.W., Cavanagh received no paperwork. You are looking at how to make money.. Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors of Montrose handled the funeral . A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. . E.W. The federal inquiry began several months ago, shortly after Reuters interviewed a half-dozen workers who formerly worked for Hess. Andrew Scheid has been the director at . She said, No, no, well take care of that first thing in the morning, recalled Eberspacher. Colorado regulators can now inspect funeral homes and crematories Kent kept giving excuses, Cavanagh said. The suspension order details a 2019 instance in which an unnamed individual arranged with Kents funeral home for the cremation of their stillborn child. Peck was given another six months of probation. [the FBI told me] his head was sent to so and so. They are distinct from the organ and tissue transplant industry, which the U.S. government closely regulates. Leaking body bags, unrefrigerated remains: Colorado funeral homes under 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. The NBC10 Investigators found bodies inside an unlicensed funeral home in Chester, Pennsylvania. One of Hesss donors was Rex Dunlap, a frugal Coloradan battling brain cancer. Lancaster County funeral home under investigation for misconduct Such multipurpose operations raise ethical concerns, several funeral industry veterans said. Hess, however, charged families to donate their bodies $195, plus $300 more if relatives want cremated remains returned. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. The Daily Sentinel reports that Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. The Lake County Sheriffs Office confirmed an active criminal investigation is underway. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 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. Neither addressed the issue about the teeth. There, authorities also found dried bodily fluid on surgical equipment, the metal preparation table, and the floor. and Cavanagh, Reh had an immensely difficult time reaching the Kents, the phone ringing unanswered for weeks. 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. It is the only state in the country that does not license funeral home and. 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 is even more money to be made in dissecting those bodies and selling the parts. Its not something that can be fixed., Hancock was notified by the FBI that her husbands body parts had been sold without her consent. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. You are not looking at the full disposition (of a body). or redistributed. We did not provide our messaging to be repurposed in this brochure, and are following up, said spokeswoman Erin Dolin. Its a profit business. "It's concerning to the court that defendant Hess refuses to assume any responsibility for her conduct.". 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 owner of the funeral homes, Shannon Kent, is also Lake Countys coroner. 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. No federal law prohibits the buying and selling of human body parts to be used in research and education. A woman in Colorado has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally selling body parts. Subscribe today to see what all the buzz is about. On March 17, the unsealed indictment revealed that this donor services business would harvest the human remains and then sell them, illegally and without the families' knowledge. Both have become experts on the secret industry of selling body parts on a world wide market. The couple got dressed up in matching outfits and brought a special camera. Unfortunately, the attention wasn't focused on the town's natural beauty or tourism opportunities. Her funeral home site listed her credentials, including a PhD in mortuary science. Jacque Hampson spent a year working as Hesss personal assistant. Now the women wonder how many others might have had the same experience. Fo Connie Hansons sons body parts were also allegedly sold. Megan Hess, the owner of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, and her parents are now under investigation by the FBI. Email address: Colorado Funeral Home / Body Broker Continues Under Investigation, Acquisitions, buy-outs, creative ideas. Market data provided by Factset. 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. 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. A funeral home in Indiana is under investigation after allegedly falling behind on processing dead bodies for an unknown period of time, but at least a few months. Montrose, Colorado: A former funeral home operator pleads guilty to seattletimes.com: Colorado funeral home owner sentenced in body sales Separate from the FBI inquiry, Reuters has learned that Colorado state funeral regulators are investigating Hess's funeral home, Sunset Mesa. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. FBI scrutinizes Colorado funeral home with side business selling body This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The body was identified as that of 42 . Each edition is filled with exclusive news, analysis and other behind-the-scenes information you wont find anywhere else. 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. Downard Funeral Home Under Investigation, ISU Involved 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. Colorado Funeral Home Owners Charged With Brokering Body Parts No one would pick up the phone. One ex-employee, Kari Escher, said she was especially troubled by the practices of Hesss mother, Shirley Koch, who works at the facility. There are no ethics there when you do that.. The focus and extent of the federal probe into the Hess operation is unclear, and the FBI also declined to comment. I go to sleep with the visions of him being dismembered with a power saw, said Ruthie Pettyjohn, whose sons body parts were allegedly sold. After reading the states suspension order this week, two women told The Denver Post that the circumstances surrounding E.W. sound eerily familiar. This is a way we can eliminate or alleviate the black market on body parts, Crowder added. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. . I know these are not his ashes because his body parts went all over the country, Hanson said. Kent also still faces second-degree official misconduct charges stemming from a September 2019 grand jury indictment in the Fifth Judicial District. Her father, Alan Koch, ran the crematory, Hess said. Former Colorado funeral home owner sentenced to 20 years for selling On Monday, the family of Ramon Lara Castillo a 63-year-old Nashville house painter who succumbed to liver cancer in October 2020 filed a federal lawsuit against former funeral director Reid Van Ness and the operators of a funeral home in Lewisburg, Tenn. Roommates and friends of Castillo paid Van Ness $1,800 to ship the body home to his . Funeral Home Operator Jailed After Selling Body Parts of 500-Plus John Wayne Gacy's house has since been torn down and replaced with a new residence, built on the same land where Gacy reportedly buried many of his victims. Hess continues running a dual operation. His two shoulders went somewhere else. 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. Donor Services has circulated a brochure that reads: Be a hero. Hoping to get answers, Denver7 visited Hess home in Montrose. 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 theDenver Post, prosecutors reached a plea agreement with Hess this year regarding a 2020 indictment against her and her mother. The Unaffiliated is our twice-weekly newsletter on Colorado politics and policy. The conflict of interest of having a side business in body parts just leads to problems. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. 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. 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. Pictures show bodies stacked in hallways and unrefrigerated rental trucks. 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 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. Kent also operates funeral homes in Silverthorne, Idaho Springs, Fairplay and Buena Vista. According to the Johnstown, N.Y. Police Department, Brian M. Barnett, 35, who owns the since-shuttered Ehle .
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