logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
43m 53s

Colorado Funeral Home Body Brokering Sch...

AARP
About this episode

Planning a loved one's burial or cremation is a difficult experience under the best of circumstances. When Diana's stepfather, Cactus, gets sick during the early stages of Alzheimer's and sees a billboard advertising simple cremations for $695 at Sunset Mesa Funeral Home, he requests that his family cremate him and not spend a lot of money. But when Cactus dies and his cremains go missing under mysterious circumstances, it sets off a series of events that not only exacerbates the family's grief, but also tips off a lengthy investigation by Reuters journalists that rocks a small community in western Colorado and exposes the dark, unregulated side of the body trade industry.

Up next
Nov 21
Scam Declined: How Bank Employees Stopped a Scam
<p class="MsoNormal">A call from someone claiming to be from the Federal Trade Commission sends Linda on a quest to transfer $25,000, believing that she is assisting them in catching a criminal. The caller warns her not to tell anyone what she's up to, but perceptive bank employe ... Show More
53m 44s
Nov 14
Archive Episode: Brooke Astor, Famous Socialite Robbed
A prominent philanthropist and the center of New York society, Brooke Astor lived a tumultuous yet glamorous life. Left a fortune by her third husband, Vincent Astor, Brooke planned to live out her later years at her country estate. But when Brooke's son refuses to let her do so, ... Show More
22m 6s
Nov 7
Criminals Threaten Jail Time in Jury Duty Scam
Jana always tries to do the right thing, so when she receives a call from the sheriff's office stating that she missed jury duty, she panics. She thinks back to studying for her American citizenship exam and learning how important it is to respond to a jury summons. She doesn't r ... Show More
51m 34s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
Introducing Cover Up Season 3: Body Brokers
For eight years, Megan Hess ran Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in the small town of Montrose, Colorado. She promised clients discounts on normally expensive cremations, a seeming kindness in a town where many are poor. But in the back of the funeral home, Megan’s elderly mother Shirley ... Show More
2m 57s
Apr 2021
Funerals and grief in a pandemic
<p>The extraordinary measures put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ebola crisis placed restrictions on much of people’s lives, including the rituals and ceremony around death. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women whose work has supported grieving families during a time ... Show More
27m 15s
Mar 2023
Episode 254: Cornelius Price and the flashy funeral rituals of gangland's hard-men
THE funeral of gangland hard-man Cornelius Price took place in the UK this week, complete with three Lamborghinis to lead the cortège, floral tributes of guns, chainsaws and one curious front page of the Sunday World.Beloved by his family, ‘Nailyboy’ - who is suspected of being i ... Show More
46m 14s
Jul 2022
The Secret Keepers
<p>When a 59-year-old father is found dead in his home, family members assume it is related to his ongoing health issues. But when the coroner reveals he didn’t die of natural causes, police begin an investigation questioning some of his family members. Keith Morrison reports.</p ... Show More
40m 52s
Jan 2021
I Killed My Wife And Her Body Disappeared (BAM)
<p>The body of a deceased CEO of a major pharmaceuticals company goes missing from the morgue before it can be autopsied. The police find mounting evidence that the husband has a lot of motive to murder his wife and then steal her corpse so all evidence of the murder will be gone ... Show More
1h 14m
Jan 2022
Fugitive who faked death nearly killed by Covid / Boy reported dead by mom found alone in motel
In this week's True Crime Daily Podcast: An American man accused of sex crimes in multiple states reportedly died from cancer in 2020. Now authorities say he faked his death and became an international fugitive, after he's caught in a Scottish hospital with a near-fatal case of C ... Show More
46m 53s
Nov 2022
Funeral Clown: “To Die Laughing” | 1
What is it like to tell jokes at a Roman emperor’s funeral? Chris Parnell interviews a real Funeral Clown from 82 CE, a job that sometimes captured the hearts of funeral goers… and sometimes ended in certain death. And Chris wonders if this is a job tailor-made for his talents. Y ... Show More
34m 5s
Jun 2022
Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan: Reggie and Carol Sumner....Buried Alive
<p>Murdered in a uniquely gruesome and prolonged series of events; Reggie and Carol Sumner are the helpless victims of a month-long plan carried out with the help of a familiar face. Buried alive in a pre-dug hole near the Florida/Georgia line, these two high-school sweethearts s ... Show More
35m 16s
Jul 2021
Crime World Extra: When the business of crime takes centre stage on the church altar
It’s a time for celebration and a place to remember the values and morals which shape an individual’s journey through life. But sometimes funerals can be hijacked and turned into a display of wealth and power, which is totally at odds with the values of society.<br/><br/>As the d ... Show More
20m 21s