Colorado mortuary owners who hid decomposing bodies in back room arrested, state says

Katie Langford, The Denver Post on Jun 25, 2026

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DENVER — Davis Mortuary owners Chris and Brian Cotter, suspected of storing decomposing bodies in a hidden back room of their Pueblo mortuary for over a decade, were arrested Thursday morning, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said.

While state officials did not say what charges Brian Cotter, 64, and Chris Cotter, 60, were arrested on suspicion of, the 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is expected to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon to discuss the charges.

State law enforcement began investigating Brian Cotter, who was the Pueblo County coroner at the time, and his brother Chris Cotter in August, after state inspectors found the remains of at least 24 people behind a hidden door at the mortuary.

Experts have identified 18 people so far and are still trying to identify the final six, challenged by lack of mortuary records, the poor condition of the remains and degraded DNA.

Investigators also found “multiple containers of bones, cremains and probable human tissue representing an unknown number of deceased individuals” at the mortuary.

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