DENVER — After nearly 200 bodies were found piled and rotting at a Colorado funeral home, lawmakers introduced bills to overhaul the state’s threadbare regulations, which have failed to prevent a string of gruesome cases — from sold body parts to counterfeit ashes.
The cases have devastated hundreds of families. Many discovered that the remains of their loved ones were not in the ashes they ceremoniously scattered or held tightly for years, but were instead decaying in a building or, in one case, on the back of a hearse.
Their devastation prompted state lawmakers to unveil a bipartisan bill Monday that would implement Colorado’s first licensing requirements to become a funeral home director, bringing licensing rules in line with and surpassing most of all other states. The bill also imposes requirements on other jobs in the industry, including embalmers and cremationists.
“Too many Colorado families have had to face the horrific and unacceptable reality that the remains of their loved ones have been mishandled, lost, improperly cared for, sold and completely disrespected,” said Democratic Senator Dylan Roberts , one of the bill’s sponsors. A press conference.
“Things have reached a breaking point,” he said.
It’s a dramatic update in a state where funeral directors are not required to have a high school diploma. If the bill passes, a license would require a background check, a degree in mortuary sciences, a national exam and an internship.
In February, just months after 190 bodies were found at a bug-infested funeral home two hours south of Denver, another body was found in a separate case: that of Christina Rosales.
Rosales’ body was left covered in blankets in a hearse for eighteen months. It was only discovered because the owner of the funeral home in a Denver suburb was evicted. Rosales had died of Alzheimer’s disease at age 63, and her husband, George Rosales, had chosen the funeral home because they were friends with the owner.
When George Rosales learned that his late wife’s body had been left on a hearse gurney and that he had been given someone else’s ashes, he tried to stay strong for their two young adult children.
Privately, he said Monday through teary eyes: “I cried for her many times.”
“After 18 months I thought I was done, but it all started again,” he said after speaking at the press conference in favor of the bill. “I probably wouldn’t have found out about my wife’s body if it wasn’t for him. I won’t be deported.”
A second Colorado bill to be introduced would require routine inspections by regulators even after a funeral home’s registration expires — which happened at the funeral home that hired George Rosales. Colorado currently lags far behind the rest of the states, many of which conduct routine inspections annually or every few years.
“We currently have licenses for hairdressers. We are currently inspecting restaurants. We need to do something similar, or certainly more, for funeral homes,” said Republican Rep. Matt Soper, one of the bill’s sponsors.
When the FBI told Shelia Canfield-Jones that her daughter’s remains had been found among nearly 200 at a facility in Colorado, she sat in disbelief along with the officials holding the urn. The mother refused to part with what she thought were her daughter’s ashes for four years.
Canfield-Jones recalled an official finally removing the ashes from the urn and repeating, “It’s not your daughter.”
“He had to tell us over and over again,” she said in an interview, her eyes welling up. “It was horrible.”
Canfield-Jones has nightmares about her daughter’s decomposing body.
The 190 bodies were discovered in a building in Penrose last year, and the owners have been arrested and face hundreds of charges, including abuse of a corpse. The local coroner had already raised a red flag in 2020, three years before the bodies were discovered.
Joe Walsh, president of the Colorado Funeral Directors Association, said the group supports the legislation, although he cautioned against believing these rules will prevent all future accidents.
“Yes, we have the license, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean it’s going to be perfection,” Walsh said. Still, he says it’s an important step to show Coloradans that they can trust the industry and avoid as many bad actors as possible.
“The best way to do this is to improve and show that we adapt, adapt and overcome,” he said.
The bill also includes an option for those who already operate funeral homes but have not met the new requirements, which will take effect in 2026. The option would require 6,500 hours of work experience and a criminal background check to obtain a provisional license. that would become a full license after two years without discipline.
To renew a license, funeral home directors would again be required to take short classes on applicable law, ethics and public health requirements.
“There’s a general understanding that things need to change,” said Patty Salazar, executive director of the state agency that oversees funeral homes. “Colorado must and will do better by passing this legislation.”
___
Bedayn is a staff member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.