Megan Hess46 years old and Shirley Cook, 69, starred in one of America’s most disturbing stories. The mother and daughter accused false cremations and then sold parts of the bodies without the consent of the relatives.
The medical training companies to which the women sold the organs and parts said they were unaware of their fraudulent origins.
Both women are currently serving prison terms of 15 to 20 years for dissecting around 560 bodies between 2010 and 2018. But how did they complete their mission without being discovered for 8 years?
the Undertaker
Sunset Mesa Funeral Home, Colorado, USA Photo: The Denver Post
Megan Hess and his mother Shirley Koch They operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in the town of Montrose, Colorado.
As reported by several families, Megan was responsible for managing payments at the company.
According to prosecutors in the case, Hess asked for around $1,000 for cremations that never happened.
He used fake donor forms to sell off body parts such as limbs and heads donor services, his other business. Sometimes they offered the whole body.
The families
In 2018, several relatives found out about the businesswoman’s deception when they noticed her loved one’s ashes mixed with other people’s. Portal took over the journalistic research.
According to the FBI special agent in Denver, Leonard CarolloMegan Hess and Shirly Koch “exploited vulnerable victims who reached out to them in a moment of pain and grief” because they not only betrayed the trust of several families but also “maimed their loved ones,” they added in their statement added .
Several family members attended the trial to testify against the businesswomen. “When Megan stole my mother’s heart, she broke mine,” she said. Nancy Oberhofdepending on the medium Denver Post.
The competent judge Christine ArguelloHe called the case “the most emotionally draining I’ve ever experienced.” In the United States, it is legal to donate organs but not to sell them.
The verdict was 15 years for Shirly Koch and 20 years for Megan Hess.