Inset: Brian Cotter (Pueblo County). Background: Davis Mortuary in Pueblo, Colo., where county coroner Brian Cotter allegedly stored “around 20 or so” bodies (Google Maps).
A county coroner in Colorado has been accused of stowing bodies inside his private mortuary for years — with “around 20 or so” being found by authorities “in just a regular room” — in various stages of decomposition, officials say.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has confirmed to Law&Crime that authorities are currently weighing criminal charges against Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter after the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies” (DORA) Division of Professions and Occupations conducted an annual inspection at Davis Mortuary in Pueblo on Wednesday and found the bodies.
A press conference was held Thursday by CBI, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office and other local officials, during which they described how Cotter and his brother, Chris Cotter, allegedly kept the decomposing remains inside their mortuary for years in a room with no refrigeration or proper equipment. The mortuary was co-owned by the Cotter brothers and lost its crematory license in November 2024, per officials.
CBI Director Armando Saldate III and DORA Division Director Sam Delp said it was a “deeply disturbing and tragic situation” for everyone involved, including the state inspectors who made the gruesome find.
Cotter and his brother allegedly told the inspectors they “believed the bodies ranged around 20 or so,” according to Delp. “The investigators did not make entry into the room where the bodies were specifically stored,” he told reporters. “They were able to see them from the doorway. In order to really assess how many were in the room, they would of had to have started moving them around, which is not what we wanted them to do.”
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Delp said that the statements made by Cotter and his brother were that they “believed” the bodies could “be as old as 15 years.” The room they were in was located behind a door that was hidden from view by a cardboard display, according to CBI officials. Asked how they were stored, Delp told reporters, “The room was just a regular room.”
Authorities sent out a press release with CBI officials on Thursday, announcing the disturbing discovery and a “summary suspension” of Cotter’s private funeral home license. It included details about how the bodies were found and an explanation of what he said to investigators.
“The appointed designee for the funeral home, Brian Cotter, told inspectors that some of the bodies had been awaiting cremation for approximately 15 years,” the CBI release says. “He also admitted that he may have given next-of-kin fake cremains.”
The Pueblo Police Department called in CBI investigators to take over the criminal investigation based on its prior experience with another headline-grabbing case in Colorado — the Return to Nature Funeral Home arrests — where mortuary owners were caught in 2023 illegally storing nearly 200 bodies and doling out fake ashes.
State officials have suspended the license for Cotter’s private funeral home indefinitely. Cotter, who is an elected official in Pueblo, will remain on as the county coroner for the time being.
“He is currently still the coroner right now,” Saldate said. “We are exploring through legal means….trying to get advice on how we proceed.”
State officials say they are currently aware of where Cotter is as of Thursday, but his brother’s whereabouts are unknown. Both were present at the inspection Wednesday.
“That is something we are tracking down,” Saldate said.
