Colorado Funeral Home Operators Charged With Selling Bodies

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (The Daily Sentinel) — Federal authorities have arrested the operators of a Colorado funeral home accused of selling body parts or entire bodies without the consent of families.

The Daily Sentinel reports 43-year-old Megan Hess and her mother, 66-year-old Shirley Koch, were arrested Tuesday and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials.

The women operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose.

Authorities say Hess and Koch shipped bodies and body parts that tested positive for, or belonged to people who had died from, infectious diseases including hepatitis and HIV.