Colorado funeral home owner pleads guilty in body sales case

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court. Megan Hess faces a maximum sentence on 20 years after Tuesday’s plea, The Daily Sentinel reports. U.S. authorities said that on dozens of occasions, Hess and her mother, Shirley Koch, transferred bodies or body parts to third parties for research without families’ knowledge. Hess and Koch were charged in 2020 with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. The women operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home as well as Donor Services in Montrose.