Owners of Davis Mortuary arrested following lengthy investigation

KRDO13 will livestream a press conference at around 1:30 p.m., where the 10th Judicial District
Attorney’s Office will be discussing the charges.

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- Brian and Christoper Cotter have been officially arrested after serious allegations accusing the Cotters, who co-owned Davis Mortuary, of leaving dozens of bodies to decay in their funeral home.

According to records by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), former Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter's privately-owned funeral home was due for an inspection back in August of 2025. When inspectors arrived, they noted "a strong odor of decomposition."

READ MORE: Pueblo County Coroner accused of hiding bodies in secret room at his privately-owned funeral home

Later, inspectors said they noticed a door was hidden by a cardboard display. When they went to remove the display, inspectors say Cotter asked them not to go inside, according to DORA's records.

Inspectors did not follow Cotter's request; when they entered, they said they found bodies in various stages of decomposition. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Cotter told inspectors that some of the bodies had been awaiting cremation for approximately 15 years.

CBI says a total of 24 bodies from Davis Mortuary, along with multiple containers of bones and multiple containers of probable human tissue, were transferred to the El Paso County Coroner's Office for attempted identification.

In May, CBI confirmed that 18 bodies had been identified. According to officials, several were identified with the use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG)—a process that involves asking a private lab to use public DNA databases, such as GEDmatch, to find distant relatives and build family trees. 

KRDO13 Investigates was the first to uncover the allegations. To read all of our previous reporting on this case, click here.

KRDO13 has reached out to the Cotter's Attorney for comment.

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