A woman in the US got 20 years in prison because she sold body parts from dead people.
Megan Hess, 46, used to run a funeral home in Colorado. On Tuesday, January 3, she was given a long sentence for stealing from the families of the dead.
Hess did this by charging up to $1,000 to families for cremations that never happened. She went on to cut up 560 dead bodies and then sold the body parts without permission.
She did all of this in Montrose, Colorado, where she ran a funeral home called Sunset Mesa and a business called Donor Services that sold body parts.
In July, the woman pleaded guilty to fraud, and the law says that she can be locked up for up to 20 years.
Mesa’s mother, Shirly Koch, who is 69 years old, also took part in the crime. She pleaded guilty to fraud and was given 15 years in prison.
Court records show that Koch’s main job was to chop up the bodies while Mesa sold the body parts.
Tim Neff, the prosecutor, wrote in a court document:
Hess and Koch used their funeral home at times to essentially steal bodies and body parts using fraudulent and forged donor forms.
Hess and Koch’s conduct caused immense emotional pain for the families and next of kin.
In the filing, prosecutors also said that Hess’s plan was one of the most important cases involving body parts in recent US history.
So, Judge Christine M. Arguello didn’t think twice about putting both Hess and Koch in prison for what they did.
She said,
This is the most emotionally draining case I have ever experienced on the bench.
It’s concerning to the court that defendant Hess refuses to assume any responsibility for her conduct.
On Tuesday, Hess refused to talk to the judge. Her lawyer said that she was unfairly called a “witch,” “monster,” and “ghoul.”
Koch’s mother did tell the judge that she was sorry and that she took full responsibility for what she had done.
Twenty-six people testified in court about how horrible it was for them when their family members were hurt.
Tina Shannon, who had her mother cut up without permission, told the court:
I’ve worn many masks to cover the pain. I’ll never be OK.
Nancy Overhoff, who was also a victim, said:
When Megan stole my mom’s heart, she broke mine
After five hard years of investigation and a raid on the Hess’ businesses by the FBI in 2018, the case is coming to an end.
