A former funeral palour owner in Colorado, United States, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for “defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting 560 corpses and selling body parts without permission.”
While appearing before U.S. District Judge Christine M. Arguello during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing in Grand Junction, Colorado, the convict,
Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to the charges.
Federal prosecutor, Tim Neff, told the court that Hess operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity, Donor Services, from the same building in Montrose, Colorado.
Hess’s 69-year-old mother, Shirley Koch, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years for her role in chopping up and packaging the bodies for sale.
“Hess and Koch used their funeral home at times to essentially steal bodies and body parts using fraudulent and forged donor forms,” Neff said.
“Hess and Koch’s conduct caused immense emotional pain for the families and next of kin,” he added
