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. Prosecutors recommended a sentence for Hess of 12 to 15 years. 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. He covers everything from stolen art and towing to mobile homes and quirky stories that defy category. I didnt believe in depression until I lost my baby, Cavanagh said. 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. 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. Kent also still faces second-degree official misconduct charges stemming from a September 2019 grand jury indictment in the Fifth Judicial District. Prior to the raid, the cost of purchasing an arm and shoulder was $600. 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. 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. She showed Denver7 the container that she was given. Just about any adult can run for coroner in Colorado. . Hess had created a nonprofit organization in 2009 called Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation as a body-broker service doing business as Donor Services, authorities said. The couple got dressed up in matching outfits and brought a special camera. 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. In 2020, authorities charged the two with mail fraud and illegal transportation of hazardous materials. Market data provided by Factset. 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. Shannon and Staci Kent did not respond to interview requests from The Denver Post. They cut him up in pieces and sent them all over the place.. Buyers ranged from educators and scientists to individuals in the medical industry. 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. 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. That's part of my nightmare. Officials also found the "post-cremation remains" of 16 people, according . While Sunset Mesa legally is permitted to own and operate both businesses, Reuters found that there was no other active instance where a funeral home, crematory and body broker had the same owner and were in the same facility. 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. But selling body parts such as heads, arms and spines which is what Hess did for use in research or education is not regulated by federal law. Thats when E.W. MONTROSE, Colo. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He has served as Lake County coroner since 2012 and was reelected to a four-year term in November 2018. By: Tony Kovaleski Posted at 6:00 PM, Oct 31, 2019 Denver attorneys Mike Berg and Dave Teselle now represent more than 50 families who claim Hess and her parents victimized them. I see his body parts floating in space and I keep trying to grab them and put him back and I can't! The owner of the funeral homes, Shannon Kent, is also Lake Countys coroner. A woman is among more than five dozen family members currently suing the family that operated the now shut-down Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, after finding out her husband's body parts had been sold without her consent. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. E.W. Thousands more patients could benefit from life saving and healing eye and tissue donations.. Instead, the media was interested in the dark history behind the town's funeral home, Sunset Mesa. (If they've been left standing. It only investigates a funeral home if a complaint is filed, he said. No one returned her voicemails. Megan Hess, the owner of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, and her parents are now under investigation by the FBI. I said I dont want to hear anymore.. 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. But days went by and she couldnt reach anyone. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. . Investigators discovered 31 dead bodies, some of which were in advanced stages of decomposition. 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.. 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. Specifics of the scope of theFBI investigation are unclear. Other staff members also said that it was never disclosed to donor families that the corpses would be sold for profit a potentially illegal practice. 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. 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. . 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 body was identified by fingerprints as Victor Akubuo, 42, from Southern . The details of the plea agreement are unknown, but a trial for Hess' mother is still on track to proceed. That means almost anyone, regardless of expertise, can dissect and sell human remains. In reality, Burg added, they are just trying to get those bodies free and then they are going to chop them up themselves in parts and make money off the bodies.. Other charges against Hess will . Hancock is one of more than five dozen family members currently suing the family that operated the now shut-down Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. He has served as Lake County coroner since 2012 and was reelected to a four-year term in November 2018. Pictures show bodies stacked in hallways and unrefrigerated rental trucks. 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. 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. But it provided an important public service, she said. 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. Her revised online biography cited her high school degree and a love of veterinary medicine.. A Colorado funeral home is accused of victimizing families after claims that it secretly sold body parts in the hours after death. Hess continues running a dual operation. A few days later, she was able to pick up the cremains, but like E.W., Cavanagh received no paperwork. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. However, there was more going on beneath the surface. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Propel Funeral Partners makes acquisitions. POCATELLO, Idaho A Pocatello funeral home under investigation by the Idaho Board of Morticians has had its licenses revoked. The 20-year term was the maximum allowed under law. High Country News reports that, duringthe initial investigation, the FBI tested 128 samples of remains tied to Sunset Mesa. 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. There are no ethics there when you do that. Heads went for $500 and $250 for a knee prices at significantly discounted rates compared to other body brokers. 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. 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. Kent kept giving excuses, Cavanagh said. And as of. Funeral homes are required to register with the state, but spokesman Rasizer said the regulatory affairs department is not authorized to inspect mortuaries. 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. Megan Hess, 46, operated the Sunset Mesa funeral home in Montrose, Colorado, alongside a body-parts entity called Donor Services, where she undertook the grisly scheme, starting in 2010. The couple got dressed up in matching outfits and brought a special camera. 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. Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. Email: newsroom@coloradosun.com Her 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. MONTROSE, Colorado The Federal Bureau of Investigation is interviewing former employees of a funeral home whose owner runs a side business on the same premises selling human body parts. With heavy hearts, we announce the death of Arnold Roger Tesnow (Colorado Springs, Colorado), born in Worth, Illinois, who passed away on February 25, 2023 at the age of 78. Colorado Funeral Homes. Her father, Alan Koch, ran the crematory, Hess said. She was sold, embalmed and shipped out within just a few hours of her death, said Holloman. 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.