Ex-Funeral Director Jailed For Selling Body Parts
Bizarre/Strange
Thursday 5th, January 2023
An ex-funeral home owner and her mother have both been sentenced 20 and 15 years respectively in prison for the selling of body parts.
46 year old Megan Hess and her mother, 69 year old Shirly Koch are reported to have dissected approximately 560 corpses between 2010 and 2018 and then sell the body parts to medical training companies without permission.
Megan Hess pleaded guilty to fraud in July 2022 which took place at the Sunset Mesa funeral home and Donor Services was operated from the same building.
Shirley Koch, Hess's mother, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. Koch's central role has been reported to have been the dissection of bodies.
Prosecutor Tim Neff said in a court filing,
Prosecutors stated in their filing that the "macabre nature" of Hess's scheme and described it as one of the most significant body parts cases in recent U.S. history.
46 year old Megan Hess and her mother, 69 year old Shirly Koch are reported to have dissected approximately 560 corpses between 2010 and 2018 and then sell the body parts to medical training companies without permission.
Megan Hess pleaded guilty to fraud in July 2022 which took place at the Sunset Mesa funeral home and Donor Services was operated from the same building.
Shirley Koch, Hess's mother, also pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 15 years. Koch's central role has been reported to have been the dissection of bodies.
Prosecutor Tim Neff said in a court filing,
"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."
Prosecutors stated in their filing that the "macabre nature" of Hess's scheme and described it as one of the most significant body parts cases in recent U.S. history.
