Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Friday called for a county coroner to resign after state inspectors found at least 20 split bodies behind hidden door funerals.
Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter told inspectors from the Department of State Regulatory Agency that some institutions had been waiting for cremation for about 15 years, according to state regulatory authorities. Cotter also told them that they might have given fake ash to families who wanted their relatives to be cremated.
Inspectors found a “strong smell of decomposition” during Wednesday Davis Mortuary’s inspection in Pueblo, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) south of Denver, and discovered bodies in the room, hidden behind cardboard showcases. According to documents, Cotter asked the inspector not to enter the room.
Polis said Cotter had diminished public confidence in how he treated his bodies and should resign immediately. Pueblo County Sheriff David LuCro also urged the Cotter to resign at the Friday press conference.
“No one should never be wondering whether their loved one is concerned with dignity and respectful after they pass and Mr Cotter must be considered responsibility for his actions,” Prollis said.
The governor has no authority to remove Cotter from the elected officer. If Cotter does not resign, voters could apply for cancellation election to remove it.
Cotter did not immediately respond to email on Friday. Email and phone messages to comment on calls to resign.
Cotter was not arrested. Pueblo County lawyer Kala Beauvais said no charges would be made until a “slow and thorough” investigation was completed.
Investigators are still looking for property Hazmat Gear and collect evidence to create a criminal case and start identifying victims, said Armand Saldate III, Director of the Colorado Investigation Bureau. He said the office received more than 500 calls from people who think their relatives could be among the dead.
“We know that families are desperately looking for information,” said sweets. “This will be a long and complex case. We have a lot of forensic evidence that needs to be processed and a lot of information that needs to be clarified from society.”
Colorado Long was a minimum of funeral home maintenance that allowed many abuse. In one case, nearly 200 decaying bodies stored at room temperature in the penrose building, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) of pueblo.
The discovery of Pueblo took place during the first Davis Mortuary inspection, carried out in accordance with the state law adopted last year to tighten the supervision of the colorado funeral industry. Before the change, the funeral house could only be checked if they were complained of. State regulatory authorities said Davis Mortuary had no prior complaints.
Cotter was elected County Coroner in 2014 and his current term will end in 2027. He and his brother Chris bought Davis Mortuary in 1989, when he studied from his father, who owned and owned a funeral home in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, according to Mortuary’s website.
Chris Farmer, a lawyer for the National Association of Funeral Directors, said the discovery of Pueblo’s funeral home shows that Colorado’s increased maintenance.
“These inspectors should be praised in search of ‘hidden doors,'” said Farmer, the chief adviser to the Industry Group. “There are more than 250 funeral houses and a cremator in Colorado … it will take some time to look at them all.”
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Matthew Brown, Associated Press writer, made messages from Billings, Montana.