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One of those now convicted, Megan H., during an interview in 2016
Photo: Mike Wood / REUTERS
Relatives entrusted their deceased family members to two undertakers - but instead of burning the bodies, the women dismantled the bodies and sold the body parts.
Now the women, Megan H., 46, and Shirly K., 69, have been sentenced to years in prison: H. has to go to prison for 20 years and K. for 15 years.
This is reported by the British BBC, among others.
The Colorado court ruled that between 2010 and 2018 the two women, who are mother and daughter, desecrated a total of 560 bodies and sold parts of them without a permit.
In some cases they are also said to have sold complete bodies.
They also forged documents to sell body parts infected with HIV or hepatitis, the Denver Post reports.
The two women had confessed.
The case became known in 2018 through a “Reuters” report.
FBI investigators: "Greedy women cheated hundreds of victims"
The women ran a funeral home in the small town of Montrose, Colorado.
There, according to the indictment, they demanded $1,000 for cremations of bodies that never took place.
In other cases, they are said to have offered cremation free of charge if the relatives agreed to "donate" parts of the bodies.
Instead of helping loved ones, "these greedy women deceived hundreds of victims and desecrated the bodies of their loved ones," FBI investigator Leonard Carollo said in a statement.
At the verdict, the judge said, according to the Denver Post: "This case goes far beyond what is usually heard in the United States." She called it the "most emotionally distressing case" of her career.
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