Two brothers in Pueblo, Colorado, face a multitude of felony charges after authorities discovered dozens of decomposing bodies and other human remains hidden in a secret room at their funeral home. Brian Cotter, 65, and his brother Chris Cotter, 60, have been charged with 125 felony counts of abuse of a corpse, along with forgery and theft charges. They have not yet entered a plea to the charges.
The grim discovery was made in August when state inspectors visited Davis Mortuary. While inspecting the facility, they noted a strong odor of decomposition and a closed door concealed behind a cardboard display. Despite Brian Cotter's request not to open the door, inspectors proceeded, uncovering a scene with 24 decaying bodies, 83 sets of cremains, 16 sets of bones, and two containers of human tissue. Some of the bodies had allegedly been improperly stored for up to 15 years.
Brian Cotter, who also served as the elected county coroner since 2015 and was a past state grandmaster of Masons, admitted to inspectors that some families had been given fake cremains. The mortuary was subsequently shut down, and Cotter resigned from his coroner position.
The investigation revealed evidence of systemic financial and administrative misconduct, including the alleged fabrication of death certificates and the misappropriation of funds from pre-need funeral contracts, where individuals pay for services in advance. The theft charges against the brothers stem from these alleged broken contracts.
Families who had entrusted Davis Mortuary with the care of their loved ones expressed outrage and grief upon learning of the findings. Patty Emerson, whose husband Melvin died in 2011, stated she was "haunted to the core" after discovering his body was among those found in the secret room, 14 years after she had paid for his cremation. Another man, John Cordova, learned that the remains he had buried at his late wife's grave were not his granddaughter's, as the funeral home had provided him with a stranger's ashes.
Authorities have identified 19 of the 24 intact or semi-intact bodies, with efforts ongoing to identify the remaining five, as well as the bones and tissue. Many of the unmarked cremains are unlikely to be identified. The Cotter brothers were arrested in late June, more than ten months after the initial discovery, and were later released on bond. Families have filed lawsuits against the brothers, alleging deception and betrayal during their most vulnerable times.
The incident in Pueblo follows a string of funeral home scandals in Colorado, which has historically had minimal regulation in the death care industry. A law enacted in 2024 now requires the state to inspect funeral homes, a measure implemented after previous cases of mishandling bodies and selling human remains. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Armando Saldate III stated that those responsible would be held fully accountable, while District Attorney Kala Beauvais pledged to provide clarity and closure for the affected families.