Funeral home had four year old remains

Funeral home had four year old remains
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full screen District Attorney Michael Allen during a press conference. Photo: Christian Murdock/AP/TT

The owner of a Colorado funeral home and his wife were arrested Wednesday on charges related to the discovery of 190 human remains at one of their facilities. Some of the remains are said to have been there for four years.

The spouses are suspected of desecrating human remains, theft, money laundering and forgery.

Authorities will not share the details of the case due to the ongoing investigation, District Attorney Michael Allen announced at a news conference. But he says there is “absolutely shocking” information in the investigation.

In the past, families have accused the funeral home of giving them fake ashes instead of their relatives’.

The remains were discovered in early October after the authorities were alerted after someone reacted to the smell.

A process is underway to identify the remains through, among other things, fingerprints and, if necessary, DNA. 110 of the 190 remains have been identified, and 25 of them have been returned to the people’s families.

Investigators are in contact with more than 130 families, and people who worked for or with the suspect couple are being asked to come forward, Allen said.

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