Daughter sues owners of Davis Mortuary after father’s body found among 24 decaying corpses
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- A woman whose father was one of the 24 decaying bodies found inside Davis Mortuary has filed a lawsuit against the owners, Chris Cotter and Brian Cotter.
The lawsuit comes as the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) says 24 decaying bodies were found inside the funeral home; some of the bodies had been there for more than a decade, investigators say.
The Allegations
The lawsuit names several others, including the Pueblo Masonic Temple Annex Association, as attorneys say the group leased the mortuary property to the brothers.
The Plaintiff Crystal Kiniston says her father, Charles Russell, died on June 25, 2011, in Lamar, Colorado, and 14 years later his body was found and identified amongst the other corpses that were decomposing in the Davis Mortuary.
Court records claim that the Cotter brothers "preyed upon" Kiniston when "she was most vulnerable by promising to treat her deceased loved one with respect and dignity." The lawsuit says that, instead, the brothers treated her father carelessly, while the Pueblo Masonic Temple Annex Association "failed to satisfy their duties as landlords."
Attorneys claim that Brian Cotter has held several leadership roles with the group, including serving as "Worshipful Master" in 2009 and 2010. They also claim that the decaying scent of 24 corpses would have been powerful and unmistakable to any individual who frequented the mortuary.
The lawsuit also mentions Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel, who attorneys claim had a contract with Kiniston to provide cremation services. The lawsuit claims that the chapel transported her father's body to the Davis Mortuary. The Cotter brothers then provided Kiniston with a Certificate of Cremation for her father, according to court records.
The lawsuit claims that Kiniston then received a container that Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel said contained her father's remains. Kiniston was later informed in September of 2025 that her father's "body was discarded and deceptively concealed in a basement for fourteen years, together with [23] other bodies and an unknown number of deceased individuals’ body parts."
Kiniston has demanded a jury trial and asks for damages in amounts to be determined in trial for mental and emotional distress, economic distress, and more.
Read the full lawsuit below:
Background on the Case
Back in August 2025, inspectors alleged that they noted a smell of decomposition in Cotter's privately-owned funeral home, Davis Mortuary. They claimed that there was a door hidden behind a display, and when they removed it, they allegedly found remains in various states of decomposition.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) said that there were 24 bodies found, and it's believed that they were all brought to the funeral home between 2010 and 2012.
As of this publication, no criminal charges have been filed against Brian Cotter, or funeral home co-owner Chris Cotter. However, Brian Cotter did step down from his position as county coroner.
The CBI says that they want to identify all of the bodies before the district attorney's office evaluates potential charges.
"As we've indicated from the very beginning, this is a slow and tedious process," said District Attorney Kala Beauvais on Oct. 1. "I am determined to get this case right. The filing of charges will be done right the first time."
To read all of our updates on the Davis Mortuary case, click here.
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