Police Found 115 Bodies at Colorado ‘Green’ Funeral Home While Investigating Putrid Smells

Police Found 115 Bodies at Colorado ‘Green’ Funeral Home While Investigating Putrid Smells
A hearse and debris at the rear of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., on Oct. 5, 2023. Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP
The Associated Press
Updated:
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CAÑON CITY, Colo.—The awful smell seeped from a neglected building in a small Colorado town for days, followed by a report that made police take a closer look at the “green” funeral operator’s storage facility. Inside, they made a gruesome discovery: At least 115 decaying bodies.

Investigators were tight-lipped Friday about exactly what they found inside the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, but their plans to bring in teams that usually deal with airline crashes, coroners from nearby jurisdictions and the FBI pointed to a grim mess.