Overview

• State inspectors conducting an annual check at Davis Mortuary in Pueblo found several bodies in various stages of decomposition behind a door concealed by a cardboard display.
• The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies imposed a summary suspension, citing willful dishonesty, negligence, and exceeding the facility’s refrigerated capacity.
• Owner and Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter allegedly told inspectors the remains were awaiting cremation, said some had been there for about 15 years, and acknowledged he may have provided families with fake cremains.
• The agency said it contacted Pueblo police, and CBS Colorado reported the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has opened a criminal investigation into the mortuary.
• Neither the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office nor Davis Mortuary has issued public comment, and the discovery comes days before the separate state sentencing of Return to Nature co-owner Jon Hallford.