Authorities mentioned Tuesday (August 26, 2025) they removed two dozen decomposing bodies and a number of containers of bones and certain human tissue after discovering stays final week behind a hidden door of a Colorado funeral residence owned by the native county coroner.
The properties of Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter and his brother, Davis Mortuary co-owner Chris Cotter, have been additionally searched as a part of the legal investigation into the funeral residence in Pueblo, about 175 kilometres south of Denver, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation mentioned.
Neither brother has been arrested or charged as an investigation that’s anticipated to be prolonged continues. The Cotters haven’t been questioned as a result of they retained attorneys, CBI mentioned.
Brian Cotter’s lawyer, David Beller, didn’t instantly present a remark. It wasn’t instantly identified who was representing Chris Cotter.
The company beforehand mentioned that no less than 20 decomposing bodies have been discovered on the mortuary on August 20 by inspectors who seen a robust odour and located the bodies hidden behind a cardboard show. Brian Cotter had requested the inspectors to not enter the room, in accordance with officers.
Pueblo County Commissioners on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) renewed their requires Cotter, who’s an elected official, to resign and keep away from a expensive recall election. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has additionally urged him to step down. Cotter stays the county’s coroner, however coroners from two close by counties are working his workplace, CBI mentioned.
Brian Cotter advised inspectors from the state Department of Regulatory Agencies that a number of the bodies had been awaiting cremation for about 15 years, in accordance with a doc explaining why the funeral residence’s license was suspended. Cotter additionally advised them he might have given faux ashes to households who needed their family members cremated, the division mentioned.
Colorado lengthy had a number of the weakest oversight of funeral properties within the nation, with no routine inspections. That’s allowed quite a few abuses, together with a pending case involving practically 200 decomposing bodies present in a constructing in Penrose, Colorado, about 50 kilometres from Pueblo.
