DENVER -- To many it is simply the unthinkable. Instead of paying the standard $695 cremation fee to Colorado Cremation, Hesss former cremation marketing business, Dunlap paid Hess $495 to take his body. by Mr. Leadville | Oct 26, 2020 | Leadville News. Megan Hess, a former Colorado funeral home director, chopped up over 500 . 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. When Schum hesitated, Hess said she would waive the cremation fee if Schum agreed to donate her friend's bladder to science. The lawsuit claims the three sold torsos for $1,000, a pelvis with upper legs for $1,200. 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. Hess continues running a dual operation. She showed me her collection of gold teeth one day, said Escher, who helped manage a former cremation-marketing business owned by Hess. No one returned her voicemails. I thought it was something that needs to be corrected," said state Senator Larry Crowder, one of the bills sponsors. The. The charges defray the cost of picking up the deceased, she said in the 2016 interview. 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. Unfortunately, the attention wasn't focused on the town's natural beauty or tourism opportunities. She did. Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to fraud in July. The news agency had also sent written questions to Hess and her attorney about Kochs alleged handling of gold teeth. We were greeted at the door by her father, who told us to leave the property. None of the former employees or associates Reuters interviewed worked directly for the body broker business. Its really an underground industry that most people dont know about, said attorney Michael Burg. Paul Hawthorne, Getty Images. ", Tina Shanon, whose mother was dismembered against her will, told the court, "I've worn many masks to cover the pain. PUBLISHED 8:21 PM CT Apr. All rights reserved. Few state laws provide any oversight. Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Thank you, she said before ending the call. 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. E.W. According to theDenver Post, prosecutors reached a plea agreement with Hess this year regarding a 2020 indictment against her and her mother. The body was identified as that of 42 . 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. and Cavanagh, Reh had an immensely difficult time reaching the Kents, the phone ringing unanswered for weeks. My mother and my mothers body has been desecrated.. The recent parade of early deaths has hit close to home. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. 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. 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. The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state our community can better understand itself. But two said Hess sometimes bragged about how lucrative it was to sell bodies and body parts. Mabry said Koch told him the glass eye couldnt be removed after Dunlaps head was severed, embalmed and shipped to researchers. 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. Kent also still faces second-degree official misconduct charges stemming from a September 2019 grand jury indictment in the Fifth Judicial District. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. She said, No, no, well take care of that first thing in the morning, recalled Eberspacher. 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. 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. According to Reuters Sunset Mesa Funeral Home had seen their call volume increase from 59 in 2015 to 128 in 2017. 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. 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. To betray that help, in a way that the businesses here are alleged to have done, brings nothing but a lack of credibility to all funeral service professionals. Thousands more patients could benefit from life saving and healing eye and tissue donations.. Now the women wonder how many others might have had the same experience. And it is not against the law to operate a so-called body broker firm from the same facility that houses a funeral home and crematory. MONTROSE, Colo. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. That means almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human remains. 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. Hess made donating a body online easy. This compassionate help is the essence of what we do. "Hess and Koch's conduct caused immense emotional pain for the families and next of kin.". We did not provide our messaging to be repurposed in this brochure, and are following up, said spokeswoman Erin Dolin. Investigation into the allegations are ongoing with the Texas Funeral Services . a contrarian view? They are distinct from the organ and tissue transplant industry, which the U.S. government closely regulates. 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 indictment accuses Kent of allowing his wife to go out to death scenes as a deputy coroner, even though she took no oath and an appointment had not been filed with the county clerk, as required by law. A funeral director who also works as a body broker could have a financial incentive to sell a body for its valuable parts rather than provide an inexpensive burial, for instance. 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. "We don't even have a name for a crime this heinous. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. In Colorado, the states organ donation program, Donor Alliance, said Hesss marketing language could be confusing to people.. 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. 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. She said she and her mother, Koch, handled about 10 cadavers a month in the back room. You know, they can't put his head back on his body, they can't put his arms and legs back on his 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. He would not discuss the nature of those complaints or any action it may be taking. You are looking at how to make money.. In Colorado and most other states, it's legal for funeral homes to sell items taken from corpses, including the gold found in teeth. A woman in Colorado has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally selling body parts. She said that one month she got about $40,000 from selling donated bodies. 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. When Reuters visited her facility in 2016, Hess said Donor Services represented just 15 percent or so of her total business. 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. It is the only state in the country that does not license funeral home and. [the FBI told me] his head was sent to so and so. A human head and spine sold for $850, while a full pelvis all the way to the toes priced out at $2,850. and Cavanagh, Reh had an immensely difficult time reaching the Kents, the phone ringing unanswered for weeks. GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO: On allegations of fraud and illegally selling body parts, a former owner of a funeral home in Colorado was given a 20-year term in federal prison. 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. 06, 2021. 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. Bailey-Kent Funeral Home, pictured at left, is one of two funeral homes owned by Shannon Kent now under criminal investigation. 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. Pictures show bodies stacked in hallways and unrefrigerated rental trucks. 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 funeral home's owners, Megan Hess, 43, and her mother . They were arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. 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. A grand jury indictment said that from 2010 through 2018, Hess and Koch offered to cremate bodies and provide the remains to families at a cost of $1,000 or more, but many of the cremations never occurred. Connie Hansons sons body parts were also allegedly sold. The indictment accuses Kent of allowing his wife to go out to death scenes as a deputy coroner, even though she took no oath and an appointment had not been filed with the county clerk, as required by law. Like many, Hanson found out about her son Frederick during a phone call from an FBI agent. I didnt believe in depression until I lost my baby, Cavanagh said. 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. I went through a very bad crisis losing the baby, Cavanagh said. 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. 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. Drop us a note at [email protected]. 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.