At Colorado funeral home where 115 decaying bodies found, troubles went unnoticed by regulators

By JESSE BEDAYN, AMY BETH HANSON, MATTHEW BROWN and MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — The legal and financial troubles piled up in recent months at the Colorado funeral home where authorities last week discovered at least 115 decomposing bodies. But the troubles went unnoticed by state officials who have long struggled to effectively oversee the industry. Colorado has some of the weakest rules for funeral homes in the nation with no routine inspections or qualification requirements for funeral home operators. The operators of the Return to Nature Funeral Home didn’t pay taxes and were evicted from one site. They also were sued for unpaid bills by a crematory that quit doing business with them almost a year ago. None of the problems appeared to attract the attention of regulators.