State and local investigators recovered a total of 24 decomposing bodies and multiple containers of bones and tissue that are likely human from Davis Mortuary, the funeral home owned by embattled Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter.
It’s been almost a week since state inspectors found a hidden room filled with several bodies “in various stages of decomposition,” and it will likely take months more to identify the remains because of their condition and “unverified record keeping” at the mortuary, Colorado Bureau of Investigation officials said.
In addition to the bodies, law enforcement removed “multiple containers of bones and several containers of probable human tissue representing an unknown number of deceased individuals,” CBI officials said in a news release Tuesday.
Investigators will use dental x-rays, fingerprints and DNA samples to confirm identification on the remains, some of which are believed to be at least 15 years old, state officials said.
Cotter owns Davis Mortuary with his brother, Chris Cotter, and neither have been arrested in the case. Police know where they are and do not consider the brothers a flight risk, according to the agency.
Investigators have not questioned either man because both have hired attorneys, the CBI said Tuesday, but law enforcement agents have executed search warrants on their homes.
Brian Cotter has not stepped down from his elected position as coroner, despite calls to resign from Gov. Jared Polis and multiple Pueblo city and county leaders. He was recently removed as secretary of the Colorado Coroner’s Association Board of Directors, state officials said.
Day-to-day operations at the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office are now being handled by the Fremont and El Paso County coroners.
Investigators posted an online questionnaire for potential victims in the case, which has already been filled out by 336 people as of Tuesday afternoon.
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