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11-02-2024, 11:03 AM
BY JESSE BEDAYN AND COLLEEN SLEVIN
Updated 7:01 AM GMT+8, February 10, 2024
DENVER (AP) — A county coroner reported suspicions about bodies being poorly treated by a Colorado funeral home more than three years before nearly 200 decomposing bodies were discovered inside a decrepit building in October, according to newly unsealed court documents that raise questions about how the mistreatment of corpses was able to continue for so long.
The concerns raised by the Fremont County coroner also included worries about the improper refrigeration of bodies and were reported to a state agency in 2020
......
But the coroner received no response from the state agency, which has long struggled to effectively oversee the funeral home industry
......
Colorado has some of the weakest rules for funeral homes in the nation with no routine inspections or qualification requirements for funeral home operators. The Hallfords allegedly stored bodies as far back as 2019, and the count grew over the next four years
......
Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies on Friday confirmed that it did get an email from Fremont County coroner Randy Keller in May 2020 saying that he had gotten calls regarding refrigeration issues at a funeral home in his county but he did not say which one. Keller said he did not know if the concerns were justified and offered to do an inspection if the state wasn’t able to
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O’Donnell said the agency didn’t have the power to inspect funeral homes at the time, with lawmakers giving the agency inspection authority two years later.
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O’Donnell declined to elaborate on Keller’s 2020 email and the agency’s response.
Much more at: https://apnews.com/article/colorado-fune...0c7c5962d5
Updated 7:01 AM GMT+8, February 10, 2024
DENVER (AP) — A county coroner reported suspicions about bodies being poorly treated by a Colorado funeral home more than three years before nearly 200 decomposing bodies were discovered inside a decrepit building in October, according to newly unsealed court documents that raise questions about how the mistreatment of corpses was able to continue for so long.
The concerns raised by the Fremont County coroner also included worries about the improper refrigeration of bodies and were reported to a state agency in 2020
......
But the coroner received no response from the state agency, which has long struggled to effectively oversee the funeral home industry
......
Colorado has some of the weakest rules for funeral homes in the nation with no routine inspections or qualification requirements for funeral home operators. The Hallfords allegedly stored bodies as far back as 2019, and the count grew over the next four years
......
Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies on Friday confirmed that it did get an email from Fremont County coroner Randy Keller in May 2020 saying that he had gotten calls regarding refrigeration issues at a funeral home in his county but he did not say which one. Keller said he did not know if the concerns were justified and offered to do an inspection if the state wasn’t able to
......
O’Donnell said the agency didn’t have the power to inspect funeral homes at the time, with lawmakers giving the agency inspection authority two years later.
......
O’Donnell declined to elaborate on Keller’s 2020 email and the agency’s response.
Much more at: https://apnews.com/article/colorado-fune...0c7c5962d5
