. 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. They desecrated his little body, she said. The remains Hess returned to families were also not those of their loved ones. As a matter of fact, the FBI has set up a hot line and e-mail address for potential victims of the businesses to contact with information. A price list uncovered during an ongoing lawsuit against an Arizona body broker provides insight into the value of body parts and the profits that can be produced. 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. After receiving the cremains, E.W. DENVER -- To many it is simply the unthinkable. She said that one month she got about $40,000 from selling donated bodies. The focus and extent of the federal probe into the Hess operation is unclear, and the FBI also declined to comment. Hess continues running a dual operation. 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. Its a profit business. The surgical-training companies and other firms which bought the arms, legs, heads and torsos from Hess did not know they had been fraudulently obtained, prosecutors said. It was kinda creepy., It is totally unregulated, said Burg. Lake County coroner Shannon Kent owns both the Bailey-Kent Funeral Home in Leadville about 100 miles southeast of Denver and the Kent Funeral Home Gypsum about 133 miles west of the Mile High City, The Denver Post reported Friday. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. Details of Shannon Kents operations come on the heels of a Montrose funeral home that made international headlines in 2018 after an FBI raid and subsequent two-year investigation. After Mabry threatened to sue Hess for losing the eye, he said Hess wrote him a check: $500, a refund of the money Dunlap had paid to donate plus $5. . 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 federal inquiry began several months ago, shortly after Reuters interviewed a half-dozen workers who formerly worked for Hess. Its for the good of the world, and I like to help people, Hess said. As she mourned the loss of her son, Cavanagh was referred to the Kent Funeral Home in Gypsum to do the cremation. The transfers were done through Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation and Donor Services, authorities said. These people deserve to know why what was done to them was done to them. "This is the most emotionally draining case I have ever experienced on the bench," U.S. District Judge Christine M. Arguello said during Tuesday's sentencing hearing in Grand Junction, Colorado. Learn more about Colorado true crime stories in the gallery below. 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. (McGovern said no industry regulated by the Division of Professions and Occupations has regulators assigned exclusively to it.) She showed me her collection of gold teeth one day, said Escher, who helped manage a former cremation-marketing business owned by Hess. Chantal Reh. Market data provided by Factset. Now its possible its not my baby in the urn, Reh said. Bailey-Kent Funeral Home, pictured at left, is one of two funeral homes owned by Shannon Kent now under criminal investigation. The conflict of interest of having a side business in body parts just leads to problems, said Steve Palmer, a funeral director in Cottonwood, Arizona, and former member of the policy board at the National Funeral Directors Association. Details of Shannon Kents operations come on the heels of a Montrose funeral home that made international headlines in 2018 after an FBI raid and subsequent two-year investigation. Updated: 8:07 PM MDT September 14, 2021. 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. But experts say its the underground black market that also contributes to the increased demand for body parts. According to the Johnstown, N.Y. Police Department, Brian M. Barnett, 35, who owns the since-shuttered Ehle . Megan Hess, the owner of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, and her parents are now under investigation by the FBI. Mabry said Koch told him the glass eye couldnt be removed after Dunlaps head was severed, embalmed and shipped to researchers. We were greeted at the door by her father, who told us to leave the property. That's part of my nightmare. Now the women wonder how many others might have had the same experience. None of the former employees or associates Reuters interviewed worked directly for the body broker business. Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after entering the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Members of the FBI, along with Montrose law enforcement investigate the Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors and Donor Services building Tuesday morning, February 6, 2018. 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. It was kind of creepy.. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. In mid-November, she wrote an email to a surgical training company saying that she could supply a human torso, according to messages reviewed by Reuters. GRAND JUNCTION 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. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. His two shoulders went somewhere else. Non-compete agreements, Customer Experience, Community Engagement. By: Tony Kovaleski Posted at 6:00 PM, Oct 31, 2019 However, on Thursday, Colorado police arrested Shannon and Staci Kent after finding a decaying corpse in a funeral home they previously operated. Funeral homes owned by a Colorado coroner under, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Get to know all 17 Denver mayor candidates , Funeral homes owned by a Colorado coroner under investigation following discovery of unrefrigerated body, unlabeled cremains, Owners of Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors indicted for illegally selling human body parts, Former Montrose funeral home director accused of selling body parts loses state insurance license, This really has shattered me: Betrayal, anger, grief haunt victims of Colorado funeral home that sold loved ones body parts without permission, Denver weather: Strong winds and low humidity will elevate fire concerns Sunday, Vehicle owners can register for car theft deterrent program DenverTrack, Data breach of DPS computer servers affects all district employees, officials say, Colorado psychologists gain authority to prescribe mental health medication, Colorado property owners to face astronomical tax increases next year, After School Satan Club launching first Colorado chapter, but organizer promises "we are not devil worshippers", PHOTOS: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band play Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado landlords say eviction-protection proposal could make dropping problem renters too hard, No more greasy pizza boxes, paper towels or takeout containers in Front Range compost bins come April 1, 5 can't-miss menus for Denver Restaurant Week, After teen's death, Denver East High students walk out to advocate for gun legislation, Boulder house where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Metro Denver housing market crosses firmly into negative territory in February, Kiszla: With Brendan Rodgers down and out, Kris Bryant could become $182 million face of worst team in Rockies history, As Adderall shortage continues, DEA plans to limit some telemedicine prescriptions, House where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Columbia University permanently drops SAT, ACT admissions requirement, The Waterbed Doctor: California retailer lays claim to retro bed with nearly 40 years of service, sales, Felonious Florida podcast: Missing teenage girl leads to several cases of child sex trafficking, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information, 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. There, authorities also found dried bodily fluid on surgical equipment, the metal preparation table, and the floor. The conflict of interest of having a side business in body parts just leads to problems. There are no ethics there when you do that. Shannon and Staci Kent did not respond to interview requests from The Denver Post. Hess' lawyer said she has been unfairly vilified as a "witch," a "monster" and a "ghoul," when instead she is a "broken human being" whose conduct can be attributed to a traumatic brain injury at age 18. The owners of that funeral home are facing charges of desecrating human remains more than four months after investigators found the body, which had been stored in a non-refrigerated room for years. The price list is from an Arizona company shut down after an FBI raid five years ago. On March 16, the director of the Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration sent Kent a letter of admonition after a state investigator found unembalmed, unrefrigerated bodily remains in his Gypsum funeral home more than 24 hours from the date of death. Her revised online biography cited her high school degree and a love of veterinary medicine.. The Colorado Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration has no employees dedicated solely to it and an annual budget of less than $85,000. 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. 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. She was sold, embalmed and shipped out within just a few hours of her death, said Holloman. You are not looking at the full disposition (of a body). 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. 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. And much like E.W. The funeral home's owners, Megan Hess, 43, and her mother . See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.