PUEBLO – A multi-agency criminal investigation is underway after state inspectors found “around 20” decomposing bodies hidden inside a private funeral home owned by Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter during an annual inspection. 

Davis Mortuary, 128 Broadway Ave. in Pueblo, is under summary suspension after inspectors entered the business and noticed a “strong odor of decomposition” and a door hidden by a cardboard display during a mandatory annual inspection Wednesday, according to a statement from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).

Officials say the inspectors saw “around 20 or so” bodies in various stages of decomposition. Brian Cotter, 64, who co-owns the mortuary with his brother, Chris, allegedly told inspectors that the bodies were awaiting cremation and that some of them had been in the room for about 15 years.

DORA Division of Professions and Occupations Director Sam Delp said the official number of bodies has yet to be determined. According to Delp, state inspectors could see the bodies from the doorway, but did not step inside the room Wednesday. Law enforcement officials were notified immediately. A search warrant of the property was executed Thursday. 

In addition to the discovered bodies, Cotter allegedly admitted to investigators that he “may” have issued next-of-kin fake cremains, according to the state agency.

“Davis Mortuary engaged in willfully dishonest conduct and/or committed negligence in the practice of embalming, funeral director or providing for final disposition that defrauds or causes injury or is likely to defraud or cause injury,” the summary suspension document alleges.

The summary suspension further states that the funeral home was over capacity in the amount of bodies it could refrigerate. In addition, Delp said none of the individuals employed by Davis Mortuary were licensed. Although not required by Colorado law until January 2027, individuals can voluntarily apply for licensure at any time. 

During this last legislative session, Gov. Jared Polis signed the Sunset Continue Mortuary Science Code Regulation bill (HB24-1335) into law. That law required funeral homes and crematories to be subject to inspections on a routine basis.

Wednesday’s inspection was the first one done on the funeral home. 

Families showed up to the mortuary Thursday afternoon with tears in their eyes as they asked what was happening to their loved ones. Patrol cars from Pueblo Police were lining the block.

“I think the biggest thing is there’s nobody to call for answers,” said Patty Emerson, who cremated her husband, Mel, at Davis Mortuary after he died from kidney cancer in 2011.

Emerson was seen pulling into the parking lot, visibly shaking with tears in her eyes as she talked to reporters. With the only knowledge of what’s happening coming from reading the news, she sat in her car making phone calls to law enforcement, awaiting confirmation that officials are taking the investigation seriously.

She said the only answers officials have given to help quell her anxiety was an email address. But she wants to know what happened to her husband, who she said was the kindest man she’s ever known. 

“It’s been 14 years, but I still miss him. I still breathe him,” she said. “And then, to read about this … it’s just devastating. I don’t know why somebody would do this. I just – it’s incomprehensible to me.”

Emerson used the coroner’s funeral home because she knew the Cotter brothers during her time working in the pathology department at UCHealth Parkview Medical Center for 18 years.

“I knew him because we handled the hospital morgue, and they would come in to pick up people who had passed away,” she said “They were both two of the nicest morticians we ever dealt with, and when it was time for me to choose a mortuary, I thought, ‘That’s who I’m going with. He’s such a nice guy.'”

Now, she just wants to find out what happened to her husband. 

“My biggest fear is that my husband’s body has been rotting away in that home. My second biggest fear is that the ashes I was given do not belong to my husband,” Emerson said.

Around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, CBI arrived at the mortuary with a hazard team. At least a dozen CBI vehicles were parked on the property and people were seen putting on gas masks ahead of executing the search warrant as officers taped off the area. 

Upon finding finding the bodies, DORA has been fully cooperating with the Pueblo Police Department, the state agency said in their statement. 

It is unknown who will assume control of the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office following the allegations. As the largest office in Colorado, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office has historically performed examinations in cases involving a conflict of interest for the Pueblo coroner, according to a statement from Coroner Emily Russell-Kinsley. 

“The El Paso County Coroner’s Office is willing to assist with the current investigation as necessary. Simultaneously, we will remain in our service to the citizens of El Paso County,” Russell-Kinsley said in the statement. 

As of Thursday, officials have confirmed Cotter is still the county coroner.

According to the Pueblo County website, Brian Cotter has spent more than 20 years with the Coroner’s Office, and has over 25 years of “death care” experience. His biography on the website states he worked as a mortician, a state death investigator and a diplomat for the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators. 

According to the Davis Mortuary website, Brian Cotter and his brother Chris Cotter purchased the funeral home in 1989. The funeral home has been around since 1905 and touts itself as southern Colorado’s first crematory in 1971.

Brian Cotter is listed as the president of the business, with Chris Cotter as a secretary, according to business records sent to the Colorado Secretary of State from 1992. 

Return to Nature: Jon Hallford to be sentenced on abuse of a corpse charges

“In this era of mega-size corporate funeral home chains, it is truly refreshing to find a family still here to serve you when you need it,” the website reads. “They are not concerned with faceless stockholders or satisfying a far off CEO with high profit numbers. Their only consideration is helping their friends and neighbors in need.”

The “our staff” bio for Brian Cotter on the funeral home’s website states “new paragraph” and appeared to have been removed as of Thursday morning.

As of Thursday, neither brother has been arrested. Officials are aware of Brian Cotter’s location, but no formal charges have been filed, according the 10th Judicial District Attorney Kala Beauvais. 

As for Chris Cotter, officials say he is “being looked at,” but similar to his brother, no charges have been filed and it remains unclear what his involvement may have been. 

It is unclear what the motive behind the alleged stashing of bodies was. Law enforcement officials say the investigation will be comprehensive and the potential financial element will be looked at. 

According to an archived version of the website from January, Brian Cotter has been around his family’s funeral home “since he was old enough to help wash cars.” He is also a member of the National Funeral Directors Association. 

Brian Cotter, a Republican, defeated his Democratic opponents in the 2014 election to become coroner and won again in 2018 and 2022, according to election results.

Chris Cotter is a certified funeral director and a licensed life insurance agent specializing in pre arranged funeral planning, according to the archived website. 

During the afternoon press conference, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero said this investigation is “rocking our community” and that it may take days or months to complete.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into the incident, a spokesperson from the agency confirmed Thursday.

A CBI tip line and victim assistance hotline is 719-257-3359.

The Pueblo County Coroner’s Office has yet to provide a statement regarding the allegations. A spokesperson from Davis Mortuary has yet to respond to a request for comment from The Gazette.

The gruesome discovery came only days before one of the former co-owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home appears in court for his state sentencing. Jon Hallford pleaded guilty to 190 counts of abuse of a corpse last year and is expected to receive two decades behind bars for the state crimes on Friday.

Gazette reporter Grace Brajkovich and Cleo Westin contributed to this article.