Colorado Funeral Home Owner Gets 20 Years For Illegally Selling Body Parts - Justice Dept.

Megan Hess, owner and operator of the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for selling body parts or entire bodies without the consent of the families of the deceased, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th January, 2023) Megan Hess, owner and operator of the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for selling body parts or entire bodies without the consent of the families of the deceased, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday.

"Under the auspices of Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors, the defendant would frequently meet with victims seeking cremation services for themselves or their loved ones who had died," the Justice Department said in a press release. "During those meetings, the defendant and others would represent to the victims that Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors would cremate decedents and provide their cremated remains back to the families.

Instead, the defendant and others would harvest body parts from, or prepare the entire bodies of, the decedents for sale in body broker services."

Judge Christine Arguello sentenced Hess to 20 years in prison after she pleaded guilty earlier to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting, the release said.

The judge also sentenced Hess' associate Shirly Koch to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting, the release added.

The two disrespected the wishes of the grieving victims and degraded the bodies of their family members to sell them for profit for years, showing no remorse or contrition even after they were exposed, according to the release.