Sunset Mesa Funeral Home owners, convicted for selling body parts, get same sentences in resentencing

There were no changes in prison time for convicted Montrose funeral directors Megan Hess and Shirley Koch after they were resentenced.

The daughter and mother received their original sentences of 20 and 15 years in prison, respectively, for selling body parts in the U.S. District Court in Denver on Monday.

Hess and Koch were arrested and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials in March 2020. The U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Colorado said Hess and Koch would not follow family wishes, and neither discussed nor obtained authorization for Donor Services to transfer descendants’ body parts to third parties between 2010-18.

The mother-daughter duo would offer cremation services and provide the remains for $1,000 or more. 

Instead of cremating the bodies, they would sell the remains and deliver fake cremains to their loved ones. They would also ship bodies and body parts that tested positive for infectious diseases after certifying the remains were disease-free. The shipments were made through mail or commercial air flight, which is a violation of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s regulations on transporting hazardous materials.

Both pleaded guilty in July 2022. Hess received the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison in January 2023. Koch was handed a 15-year sentence.

However, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the sentences in July 2024. It was determined that the district court did not follow the recommended sentencing guidelines correctly for the crimes. That included a miscalculation of the total monetary loss of money paid by body parts purchasers.

The court found that there was no evidence of body part purchasers seeking refunds or wouldn’t have purchased the remains had they known they were not donated, infected with disease, or stolen.

The latest resentencing of the Sunset Mesa funeral home case comes as similar operations are under more scrutiny.

The owners of the Return to Nature in Penrose were arrested in October 2023 for improperly storing remains. Authorities responding to a report of a foul odor found 190 sets of decaying remains at the facility.

Jon and Carie Hallford had originally pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud, and aiding and abetting for taking credit card payments from customers without providing promised services. But the two changed their pleas to guilty after accepting plea deals last September. As part of the deal, the Hallfords pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, with the remaining 14 counts dismissed.

However, Carrie Hallford withdrew her plea in March and is currently on trial in federal court. Jon Hallford’s sentencing hearing in federal court is scheduled for late June. His sentencing in state court is slated for August.

Since both cases, the Colorado legislature passed three bills last year to regulate the state’s funeral industry.