Two operators of a funeral home in Colorado have been sentenced to federal prison for a macabre scheme that involved either stealing whole bodies or harvesting body parts for subsequent sale without the consent of the relatives of the deceased.
Megan Hess, 46, and her mother, Shirly Koch, 69, used “fraudulent and forged donor forms” to conduct their trade with body broker services, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado stated.
Both women earlier pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting, with Hess sentenced to 20 years in prison and her mother to spend 15 years behind bars.
"The defendants’ conduct was horrific and morbid and driven by greed. They took advantage of numerous victims who were at their lowest point given the recent loss of a loved one. We hope these prison sentences will bring the victim’s family members some amount of peace as they move forward in the grieving process. We sincerely hope this punishment deters like-minded fraudsters in the future,” US Attorney Cole Finegan stated.
“This is the most emotionally draining case I have ever experienced on the bench. It’s concerning to the court that defendant Hess refuses to assume any responsibility for her conduct,” US district judge Christine M Arguello said during the sentencing hearing in Grand Junction, Colorado, on January 3.
From 2010 through 2018, the two operators of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home would meet with people seeking cremation services for their deceased loved ones. The women would then proceed to harvest body parts or ready entire bodies for sale, in many cases neither discussing nor obtaining permission from the relatives of hundreds of deceased. In instances where families had been persuaded to donate body parts of their dead loved ones, Hess and Koch sold the remains “beyond what was authorized by the family.” Cremated remains returned to the families were often not those of the deceased, with ashes mixed with those of different cadavers.
As to the shipments of body parts, the remains were often of those who had tested positive for infectious diseases, such as Hepatitis and HIV, despite buyers being assured this was not the case. Shipments were carried out either via mail or on commercial air flights in violation of Department of Transportation regulations pertaining to the transportation of hazardous materials, stated the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.
The entire scheme with the illegal dismemberment and sale of bodies came to light after an FBI raid on the funeral home following a US media report back in 2018. There followed an extensive forensic review of evidence pertaining to the case, with former employees of the funeral home interviewed. The subsequent criminal probe was led by the FBI Denver Division and the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General.
Sale of body parts of the deceased, such as heads, arms, or parts of the spine for subsequent use by academic or medical research facilities is not regulated by US federal law, and the business model the two women had opted for was not a crime in itself. However, it was "defrauding" relatives of the deceased and failing to get permission from them that landed Megan Hess and Shirly Koch behind bars.
After the scandal, the state legislature moved to approve a bill, SB18-234, that would require businesses trading in human body parts that were not intended for use in transplants to register with the state. Furthermore, records documenting the donation of bodies and their sale were to be maintained, while an individual owning over 10 percent of a funeral home or crematory was to be banned from owning a body broker business.