Posted on 07/06/2022 9:48:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court.
The Daily Sentinel reports that Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. Other charges against Hess will be dropped under a plea agreement, the Sentinel said.
Hess, 45, and her mother, Shirley Koch, operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. They were arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials.
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.
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.
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. The transfers were done through Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation and Donor Services, authorities said.
Hess and Koch also shipped bodies and body parts that tested positive for, or belonged to people who died from, infectious diseases including Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, despite certifying to buyers that the remains were disease-free, authorities said.
Both Hess and Koch originally had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Hess is tentatively set to be sentenced in January. A change of plea hearing for Koch is scheduled for July 12.
Prosecutors recommended a sentence for Hess of 12 to 15 years.
“Too good, just throw their bodies into the wild and let the animals naw on their entrails.”
That’s actually an option in Colorado. Sounds good to me.
That pic looks like late 80s
That’s a very good idea too. They don’t have to be completely dead either.
I was 4th generation. After 32 years I had to get out of the business. I no longer wanted to be called a funeral director. With the exception os a few older directors most are arrogant, self centered, will do anything for a buck because most are so far in debt they can’t pay attention. “Mistakes” are very common.
Alistair Cooke Body-Part Snatcher Found Guilty
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2008/04/alistair_cooke_body_part_snatc.html
“the guy there said that there had been a “mistake” and the ashes had been put in a more expensive redwood urn.”
Step 1. Open redwood urn.
Step 2. Pour contents into the correct urn.
Problem solved.
L
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