Colorado investigators discover decomposing bodies inside funeral home operated by Pueblo County coroner

Around 20 decomposing bodies were discovered in a hidden room concealed by a cardboard display at Davis Mortuary in Pueblo. Investigators believe some of those bodies have been awaiting cremation for 15 years. That mortuary is operated by Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter.

It's been 14 years since Patty Emerson lost her husband, 59-year-old Mel Emerson, to stage four kidney cancer.

"My daughter was 12 when he passed away and my son was three," said Patty.

When it came down to honoring her husband's life and giving him the proper goodbye, the Pueblo area resident says she enlisted the help of Cotter and his brother's services at Davis Mortuary to cremate his body. 

"I have known Mr. Cotter since the early 1980s. I worked at Parkview Medical Center, then in the pathology department," said Patty. "We knew the morticians and Brian and his brother were both very, very nice, kind people, [and] seemed to be very upstanding citizens."

She never could have imagined reliving the kind of pain she felt after losing her husband. Now, those feelings are bubbling to the surface after learning that over a dozen bodies were discovered decomposing inside Davis Mortuary.

"I'm very surprised," she said. "It's just incomprehensible to me that people who are entrusted with these kinds of matters have so little regard that they would actually do something like this."

"This is rocking our community. There are many lives that are affected here," said Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero. 

During a news conference on Thursday afternoon, the state Department of Regulatory Agencies, along with the Director of the Criminal Bureau of Investigation and Pueblo County leaders, announced a multi-agency investigation into Davis Mortuary and those connected to the business. 

According to documents published by DORA, state inspectors discovered multiple decomposing bodies inside a hidden room while conducting an inspection of the facility. Cotter admitted some of these bodies had been in the room for about 15 years, and he may have issued fake cremains to families.

Cotter was not only listed as the appointed designee for Davis Mortuary, but he has also been serving as Pueblo County's Coroner. 

"We do know where Mr. Cotter is currently right now. What I can confirm is he's not under arrest; the scope and size are still to be determined," said investigators. 

This inspection was the first ever conducted inside the facility, following new state legislation that now requires inspections into funeral homes and cremation businesses. Prior to the legislation, there were no requirements for state inspectors to visit these sites unless a complaint was filed. 

"We're grateful to the Colorado General Assembly for passing the increased inspection authority that allowed us to complete this inspection and detect this issue. While this discovery is tragic, it shows that the legislative effort is working and we will continue to support efforts to locate problems within this industry and others we regulate," said Armando Saldate, Director for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Investigators are now working to determine exactly how many victims there are inside the property and how this happened, while families like Patty's are 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."

CBI is encouraging anyone with information on this case or who believes their loved ones may have been impacted to reach out to 719-257-3359 or email cbitips@state.co.us.