GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Megan Hess, 45, of Montrose, Colorado, has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

According to the guilty deal, Hess planned and carried out a plot to take the bodies or body parts of hundreds of victims beginning in 2010 and continuing through 2018. Hess then sold the victims’ remains to other victims who bought them for use in science, medicine, or education.

On July 5, 2022, Magistrate Judge Gordon P. Gallagher presided over the plea hearing. A later date will be chosen for the sentencing.

The FBI Denver Division and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Tim Neff and Jeremy Chaffin oversee the prosecution.

A copy of the plea deal will be published on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website once it is made public due to the public interest in this case.

Case # 20-cr-00098