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6m ago

Colorado Coroner’s Funeral Home Suspended After Hidden Room With Decomposing Bodies Found

The case is the first uncovered under Colorado’s expanded inspection regime following prior funeral‑home abuses.

Brian Cotter is sworn into the Pueblo County Coroner's Office for his first term as coroner in 2015.
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The body of one of two suspects is loading into the coroner's van after they were shot and killed at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Garrison Street in Lakewood, Colorado, on April 30, 2024. Thornton police had initiated pursuit of the suspects in a vehicle lacking license plates, trailing them for several miles before they crossed into Lakewood. According to police reports, one individual in the pursued vehicle disembarked and fired shots at Thornton officers. Subsequently, both suspects exited the vehicle, with one brandishing a firearm. Law enforcement officers responded by fatally shooting both suspects. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Overview

  • State inspectors conducting an Aug. 20 visit to Davis Mortuary in Pueblo removed a cardboard display to access a concealed door and discovered multiple bodies in various stages of decomposition.
  • Brian Cotter, the mortuary’s appointed designee and Pueblo County coroner, told inspectors some remains had been awaiting cremation for about 15 years and said he may have provided families fake cremains.
  • The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies issued a summary suspension citing willful dishonest conduct, negligence, overcapacity, and failure to embalm, refrigerate, cremate, bury, or entomb remains within required timeframes.
  • The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is leading a multi‑agency criminal probe with local authorities, and officials said roughly 20 or so bodies were found, though exact counts and identifications are pending.
  • Investigators say Cotter asked inspectors not to enter the hidden room, and they are now processing evidence, identifying the deceased, and preparing family notifications; no criminal charges had been filed as of the latest updates.