Pueblo Coroner Brian Cotter has resigned effective Tuesday, Sept. 2. In a statement on social media, the county said that coroner's services will continue without interruption and the public will be updated as the process of filling the position progresses.
The El Paso and Fremont county coroners' offices have been assisting in the investigation and in day-to-day operations in Pueblo.
Brian Cotter co-owns Davis Mortuary, where a routine inspection uncovered several bodies in various stages of decomposition. A criminal investigation, led by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, is underway. Cotter has not been arrested.
Prior to his official resignation, multiple state and local officials had called on him to resign.
Cotter is an elected official and the governor or other state or local officials couldn't remove him.
Earlier this week, members of the public filed a petition to try and remove him, but that would have cost nearly half a million dollars and taken several months.
Identifying the remains discovered at the funeral home is in the early stages. The bodies have been transported to the El Paso County coroner's office.
The CBI has created a questionnaire for potential victims. As of Tuesday, Aug. 26, the CBI had received 843 tips and 336 people have filled out the questionnaire.
- Two dozen bodies, bones and ‘probable human tissue’ recovered from Davis Mortuary in Pueblo in probe of county coroner
- Elected officials in Pueblo call for the resignation of its county coroner
- Investigation into Pueblo County coroner after bodies found at his private practice could take months
- Pueblo County’s coroner faces state probe after decaying bodies found hidden at his private practice
