Inspection Reveals 20 Decomposing Bodies in Colorado Coroner’s Hidden Room

Less than two years after nearly 200 decomposing bodies were found in a Penrose, Colorado funeral home, state inspectors have discovered a heartbreakingly similar situation in a facility privately operated by the Pueblo County, Colorado coroner. After noticing a foul odor during an annual inspection of Davis Mortuary in Pueblo on August 20, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) authorities opened a hidden door and found at least 20 bodies — some of which have been in storage for up to 15 years.

License has been suspended

According to multiple reports, three-term Pueblo County coroner and Davis Mortuary owner Brian Cotter has not yet been arrested and seems to be cooperating with authorities. He has admitted that some of the bodies have been in the room, the door to which was concealed by a cardboard display, since 2010 — five years before Cotter was first elected to the position of coroner.

“Upon entering the room behind the display, the inspectors found several bodies in various stages of decomposition,” DORA officials told The Pueblo Chieftain. “The appointed designee for the funeral home, Brian Cotter, told inspectors that the bodies were awaiting cremation and admitted that some bodies had been in the room for approximately 15 years. He also admitted that he may have issued next-of-kin fake cremains.”

DORA’s Office of Funeral and Mortuary Science Services suspended the license of Davis Mortuary on August 21, announcing that although DORA and the Pueblo Police Department will remain involved in the investigation, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will take the lead — just as they did with the Penrose Return to Nature Funeral Home case in October 2023. 

New regulations in action

It was the horrific Return to Nature discovery, which was precluded by several other high-profile funeral home and crematory scandals across the state, that finally led Colorado lawmakers to review their deathcare regulations, which had long been considered the most lax in the country. 

On May 24, 2024, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill HB24-1335 into law, giving DORA the authority to conduct scheduled routine inspections, even outside of business hours, in addition to strengthening licensing requirements for deathcare professionals and regulating relationships with body brokers. 

The August 20 inspection of Davis Mortuary was the first ever conducted at the facility.

On August 22, Gov. Polis declared a “disaster emergency” to mobilize the state’s mitigation and investigation resources to support the authorities in Pueblo County. He also openly called for Cotter’s resignation from his coroner position.

“I’m sickened for the families of the loved ones who are impacted by this unacceptable misconduct,” said Gov. Polis in a statement on the Colorado.gov website. “It is clear public trust has been lost and Mr. Cotter must resign as the Pueblo County Coroner immediately. He should be investigated and if warranted, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. No one should ever have to wonder if their loved one is being taken care of with dignity and respect after they’ve passed, and Mr. Cotter must be held to account for his actions.”

Families are distraught

The exact number of bodies being stored in the unrefrigerated room has not been positively ascertained, nor have identifications been determined or shared with the families who entrusted their loved ones to Cotter and his employees over the last 15 years. Of course, those families are now questioning every aspect of their interaction with Davis Mortuary.

When former pathologist Patty Emerson lost her husband, Mel, in 2011, she selected Davis Mortuary to handle his cremation because of her longstanding working relationship with Brian Cotter and his brother. Emerson told CBS News that she is now “fearing the worst.”

“He could be one of those identified that’s been in this room decomposing all these years, and that is absolutely horrifying to me,” she said. “My second biggest fear is that the remains I have aren’t even his.”