On Thursday, American police were trying to identify at least 189 decomposed bodies found at a “green” funeral home in Colorado that had a “problem.”
Officers were called earlier this month to the funeral home Back to nature After reports of a “foul” smell coming from this property south of the state capital, Denver.
The owner of this exceptional funeral home, John Halford, admitted that he had practiced “mummification” at the site, under an order suspending the site’s license as a funeral establishment, and that he had encountered a “problem”.
Investigators found and removed 115 “improperly stored” bodies earlier this month, but announced this week that the total had now risen to 189.
“The 189 bodies were transferred to the El Paso County Forensic Services office, located in central Colorado,” the state investigative services said.
The US federal police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is also involved in the investigation, distributed a questionnaire to families who believe the body of a loved one could be linked to this horrific discovery.
“Green” burials have become increasingly popular in the United States, as centers or parlors attempt to reduce the environmental footprint of funeral rituals that generally involve the use of chemical agents to slow the decomposition of bodies.
According to the Denver Post, Colorado’s main daily newspaper, funeral homes in this state are not regularly inspected, and the regulations governing their practice remain very weak.
