2nd Mistrial Declared Due To Lack Of Jurors In Former Coroner's Abuse Of Corpse Case
(CBS4) -- A second mistrial was declared Friday in Summit County's case against former Lake County Coroner Shannon Kent and his wife.
Kent was stripped of his operating license in 2020 after Lake County law enforcement investigated his home-based funeral home and cremation service and found unlabeled body parts, an unrefrigerated corpse, and scrambled documentation. Two criminal cases were filed against Kent and his wife, Staci, who worked as a partner in the funeral home and cremation service. The cases charged the Kents with misconduct, perjury, and abuse of a corpse, a felony.
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Shannon Kent owned five such businesses throughout the state, including one in Silverthorne. A corpse, believed to have been present for months, was found inside that business, prompting Summit County to file its own felony case against both Shannon and Staci Kent. The body was determined to be that of a Nigerian truck driver who died in a crash on Kenosha Pass in July 2020, per the Summit Daily.
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That Summit County case was temporarily derailed Friday. According to the Summit Daily, a prosecutor saw a jury candidate reading that newspaper's front-page coverage of the trial despite a court order to refrain from consuming media coverage of the case. Already short on qualified and unbiased jurors, the judge in the case declared a mistrial.
The Summit County case is now moving to Clear Creek County. Jury selection is slated to begin at the end of May.
The first attempt at trial was interrupted in December when a witness contracted the COVID-19 virus, according to a spokesperson for the 5th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
Meantime, Shannon Kent returns to Leadville for a Lake County jury trial on abuse of corpse charges.
Both Kents resolved the other Lake County cases last fall. Shannon Kent was acquitted of perjury in September but found guilty of misconduct. He was sentenced to six months probation. Staci Kent reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to misconduct in October. She received the same probation sentence as her husband.
Monday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed into law House Bill 22-1073. The law allows the state's Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to conduct inspections and investigations of funeral homes and crematories. Prior to the law, DORA required consent of the business owner along with other legal requirements.
"I wish we did not have to pass bills like this but I am thankful we got this done and passed in a bipartisan way," Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, one of the bill sponsors. "The horrendous incidents in Gypsum, Leadville, Montrose and elsewhere made this necessary. This law will make it easier for state agencies to identify negligence in funeral homes and crematories so no more families in Colorado will have to endure the heartbreak caused by the Kent Funeral Homes and others in our state."
