DENVER—A Denver funeral home is being investigated after a family reported that their relative’s body was switched with another person and misplaced for several hours before her burial.
The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies has ordered Pipkin Mortuary to stop doing business because the owner failed to register under a new state law that went into effect Jan. 1. The mortuary turned in an application Monday but DORA said it will not process it until the agency finishes its investigation.
The mortuary can honor existing funerals but must close by Feb. 9, DORA officials said.
Prosecutors have decided not to file charges.
Relatives of Imogene Jackson said another person wearing Jackson’s clothes was in her casket during a viewing Friday at New Hope Baptist Church. They say mortuary officials did not find her body until the next day, hours before her funeral. The funeral was completed but DORA said Jackson’s body arrived almost an hour late.
The mortuary’s owner, Mark Pipkin, apologized in a written statement to KUSA-TV and said “human error resulted in a mistake.”
“Pipkin Mortuary cannot begin to fully express our deep regret and sincere apologies to the families,” the statement read in part. Pipkin also said the mortuary would be doing its own review “to prevent an incident like this from occurring in the future.”
Karen Gerwitz, a DORA spokeswoman, said depending on what the agency’s investigation finds, the mortuary could be placed on probation, or the cease and desist order that was put in place Mondy could become permanent. Gerwitz said DORA also has the option to take the case to court.
