A new funeral home scandal brings us back to Colorado yet again- a putrid smell leads investigators to find 190 improperly stored bodies littering Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, CO. This state's unique and liberated death culture seems to have a dark side, and we're finding out why.

References:

"Colorado hasn't licensed funeral practitioners since 1983. Now some want change." by Michael Abeyta, CBS News

"Grisly discoveries at Colorado funeral homes fuel push for tougher state regulation" by Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post

cofda.org (Colorado Funeral Directors Association)

"189 decomposing bodies found at funeral home offering green burials" by Timothy Bella, Washington Post

Order of Summary Suspension for Return to Nature Funeral Home

"Will the funeral home industry in Colorado see regulation change after grisly discovery?" by Mary Shinn, The Gazette

Colorado Bureau of Investigation Press Release: "Fremont County: Return to Nature Funeral Home Update"

"Police found 115 bodies at Colorado ‘green’ funeral home while investigating putrid smells" by Jesse Bedayn, Associated Press

"EPA to demolish funeral home in Colorado where 190 'improperly stored' bodies were discovered" by Jennifer McRae, CBS News

"What licensing are funeral homes in Colorado required to have?" by Eleanor Sheahan, KOAA News 5 Colorado

"These families trusted a funeral home. Their loved ones were left to rot, authorities say." by Trevor Hughes, USA Today

"Owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home appear in El Paso County Court" by Aidan Hulting, KOAA News 5 Colorado

We're starting out season 3 with a (very belated) Valentine's Day tribute to two couples whose deaths did not separate them. We visited the grave of the tallest couple on record, and we're also diving into an ancient love story with a terrifying ending. You'll also get to hear about the bizarre adventure we're starting out on for 2024...

If you listen to enough true crime podcasts, you've probably heard multiple cases where cadaver dogs played a role. But we wanted to know what happens before a dog even gets to its first case... we're looking into how they're trained and some examples of how cadaver dogs fit into the justice system.

Resources:

Cid Torrez vs. State of Florida, casetext.com

"Cadaver detection dogs: A review of their capabilities and the volatile organic compound profile of their associated training aids" by Rushali Dargon and Shari L Forbes, WIREs Forensic Science

"What the dog smelled: The science and mystery of cadaver dogs" by Chris Oke, CBC News

"What to Know About Cadaver Dogs" by Laura Mueller, The Spruce Pets

"Experts: Cadaver dogs 95 percent accurate, can smell remains 15 feet underground" by John O'Brien, Syracuse.com

"What goes into training a cadaver dog" by Mason Brighton, Spectrum News 1

"Here’s How Cadaver Dogs Are Trained To Find Dead Bodies" by Drusilla Moorhouse

"Sully the 'rock star' cadaver dog at centre of Douglas Garland triple murder trial on Monday" by Meghan Grant, CBC News

American universities are giving a new meaning to dark academia with the rise of on-campus burials. We’re discussing our feelings about spending eternity at our alma maters, and revealing a conspiracy behind a historical college cemetery. Don’t miss our stories about the people who never left their college campus!

References:

“College Campuses with Cemeteries”, collegetimes.co

“Fordham University History”, Fordham.edu

“Jesuit Cemetery, Fordham University” by Mary French, New York City Cemetery Project

“Who’s Buried at Fordham?” by Bob Fetterhoff, The Ram Newspaper

“A Grave Place, ISU’s Cemetery Stands Alone” by Carrie Sutton, Iowa State Daily

“Cemetery History”, iastate.edu

“ISU’s Cemetery is a Rare Landmark” by Sara Tennessen, Iowa State Daily

For our second annual Halloween mini episode, we brought our friend John along for the cemetery shenanigans as we try to out-spook each other with (somewhat) true ghost stories.

How can we make the funeral industry more environmentally friendly? We took a trip to one of only ten conservation cemeteries in the United States to find out! Morgan will go over some of the most glaring problems when it comes to human burials, and Jenelle will explain some greener options (and debunk some myths too).

An underground body snatching ring revealed? The body snatching story we covered in episode 9 goes deeper than we thought. We have some inside information as a recent suspect in the case has been right under our noses all along.

References:

"Bullitt County Man Arrested and Charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon" Press release from U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Kentucky

"Harvard Medical School Morgue Manager Sold Body Parts, U.S. Says" by Michael Levinson, New York Times

"Families sue Harvard over theft of body parts from morgue, saying loved ones were picked over ‘like trinkets at a flea market’" by Minyvonne Burke, NBC News

"Grisly scene: FBI finds stolen human remains 'decorated' around Mount Washington man's home" by Joseph Garcia, Taylor Woods, WHAS News 11

"FBI finds human remains 'decorated' around Bullitt County man's home during search" by Matthew Keck, WLKY

"Bones used as decor in home of Kentucky man linked to Harvard Medical School human remains scheme" by Andrew Wolfson, USA Today

"Investigators find stolen human remains as decorations in man’s house" by Jessica Goodman, Boston 25 News

2 separate oddities sales Facebook groups

Ever wonder how bodies are handled after a nuclear accident? Radioactive corpses may be more common than you think, with certain cancer treatments leaving patients with radiation in their bodies after death. We're looking into guidelines for handling these situations, and what happens when they're not followed.

Resources:

"Here’s why you shouldn’t cremate radioactive dead people" by Beth Mole, ArsTechnica

"Radiation Contamination Following Cremation of a Deceased Patient Treated With a Radiopharmaceutical" by Nathan Y. Yu, MD1; William G. Rule, MD1; Terence T. Sio, MD, MS1; et al- Journal of the American Medical Association

"A Radioactive Dead Body Contaminated An Arizona Crematorium" by Zahra Hirji, Buzzfeed

Safety Information, Lutathera website

"Brachytherapy", my.clevelandclinic.org

lutetium 177 medication profile, Lexicomp

"Radiation Safety Concerns in Brachytherapy", nrc.gov

"Richard Leroy McKinley- Specialist 4th Class, United States Army" by Michael Robert Patterson, Arlington National Cemetery

University Hospitals of Cleveland resources

"Medical Examiners / Coroners: Information for Radiation Emergencies", Radiation Emergency Medical Management, US Department of Health and Human Services

"Guidelines for Handling Decedents Contaminated with Radioactive Materials", CDC

"SL-1: America's First Nuclear Disaster", Kyle Hill on YouTube

We're back with another corpse stealing scandal! A man was selling human remains on a social media page, and it turns out they were sourced from a mortuary worker who was harvesting them directly from the bodies she worked with. We infiltrated some online oddities groups to see if we could find some human remains for sale- and we were surprised by what we found.

Resources:

"Historical skulls, other body parts being sold on Facebook — report" by TOI staff, Times of Israel

"Sicko sold stolen body parts on Facebook: cops" by Snejana Farberov, New York Post

"Judge orders mental evaluation for local woman accused of selling body parts on Facebook" by Mary Hennigan, Arkansas Times

"Arkansas woman accused of selling human body parts via Facebook messenger arrested" by 5NEWS Web Staff, 5 News

Onlinejeremyleepauley.comthegrandwunderkammer.com

The Grand Wunderkammer Facebook page

multiple "oddities" Facebook groups

Inspired by our trip to Colorado, we looked into a couple of post- mortem options that are unique to the state: fire and ice. Learn about the Frozen Dead Guy Days and the United States’ only public open-air cremation site in this episode!

Resources:

frozendeadguydays.com

“Frozen Dead Guy/ 100 Wonders/ Atlas Obscura”, Atlas Obscura on YouTube

crestoneendoflifeproject.org

“Crestone End-of-Life Project”, Atlas Obscura.

“Crestone End-of-Life Project”, fourcornersgeotourism.com

“How did the Vikings Honor their Dead?” by Thaddeus Morgan, history.com

“Bronze Age Cremation Burials and Funeral Practices at Carmanhall, Co. Dublin” by Fiona Reilly, Anna Brindley, Denise Keating and Penny Johnston

“The Complete Guide to Buddhist Burial Practices and Rituals”, Better Place Forests

United States Census Bureau: Crestone, Colorado