Mortuary reform aims to stop abuse
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Colorado's new mortuary inspection system is tightening oversight of the funeral industry after years of misconduct.
Why it matters: Early inspections are already exposing problems — like 24 bodies hidden in a Pueblo mortuary for more than a decade whose identities are still being confirmed — underscoring both the value of the new system and the need for continued vigilance.
The latest: State inspectors placed Evergreen Funeral Home in Colorado Springs on one-year probation after finding improperly stored bodies and inadequate refrigeration capacity, KRDO first reported last month.
- Regulators conducted a surprise inspection two days after receiving an anonymous complaint alleging violations, per KRDO.
- While complaints could trigger inspections before the 2025 law took effect, the new rules now guarantee every licensed facility is inspected at least annually — even without a complaint.
State of play: Lawmakers passed two reform bills in 2024 after multiple scandals involving decomposing bodies and improperly stored remains exposed gaps in state oversight.
- Already, the new inspection law is uncovering serious violations.
- Case in point: During a routine inspection in Pueblo last year, investigators discovered 24 decomposing bodies behind a false wall at Davis Mortuary. State investigators have identified 18 people whose remains were left to decompose, Colorado Bureau of Investigation officials said Wednesday.
A second law, set to take effect in 2027, will require funeral directors, embalmers and cremation workers to obtain licenses and meet education and training standards.
How it works: Before 2025, state regulators generally inspected funeral homes after receiving complaints alleging possible violations.
- Now, funeral homes and crematories face annual, unannounced inspections, in addition to complaint-based checks, state regulatory spokesperson Lee Rasizer told Axios.
- Inspectors review paperwork, refrigeration units, embalming and reception areas and general cleanliness, according to state regulations.
- Rules also authorize inspectors to examine records and satellite offices.
Flashback: Public complaints about "the smell" in 2023 prompted authorities to investigate a nondescript building in the small town of Penrose, where they discovered 191 decomposing bodies stacked inside — launching the Return to Nature case.
- The facility's license had lapsed, according to state records.
- Colorado eliminated individual licensing requirements for funeral directors in the 1980s during a broader anti-regulation push, becoming the only state without them.
Between the lines: "The [inspection law provides] another avenue aside from an outside complaint to potentially uncover unlawful activity," Rasizer said.
- The new law gives regulators the authority to inspect unlicensed properties too.
Yes, but: "It's hard to make rules for rulebreakers," former El Paso County Coroner Leon Kelly tells Axios, cautioning that regulators, industry workers and the public must remain alert to abuses.
What they're saying: State Sen. Dylan Roberts (D-Avon), who helped lead the reform effort, told 9News that the lack of licensing turned Colorado into "kind of a dumping ground for people who had gotten in trouble in other states."
- Kelly, who now does contract coroner work for other counties, called the two laws "a massive step forward."
- "They raise the level of expectations for the industry, and for the public."