Colorado County Coroner Brian Cotter allegedly concealed decomposing remains in a hidden room at his funeral home, and relatives were possibly given fake ashes.

Pueblo Police have asked the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to take over the probe, given its experience investigating the Return to Nature Funeral Home case. A judge last year ordered that funeral home to pay $950 million to families whose loved ones’ remains were mishandled.

State inspectors believe there may be about 20 bodies that were improperly stored inside Davis Mortuary in Pueblo, a business co-owned by the current coroner of the county.

The investigation continues in Pueblo County after several bodies were discovered in a hidden room at a mortuary.

Governor Jared Polis has declared a disaster emergency to support response efforts in the fallout of the Davis Mortuary case in

A funeral home operated by the Pueblo County coroner is suspended, according to documents from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).