Denver mortuary that buried wrong body to operate on probation for 3 years under agreement

Colo. mortuary that mixed up bodies can stay open

DENVER — A Denver funeral home that mistakenly switched the bodies of two women, burying and then exhuming one, will be allowed to continue operating under a state agreement calling for three years of probation.

Pipkin Mortuary admitted Tuesday in an agreement with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies that there had been a “mix-up” with the handling of the bodies, causing it to bury Imogene Jackson on Jan. 29.

The agreement did not detail how the mistake happened. Mortuary owner J. Mark Pipkin did not immediately return a call for comment. He previously said that “human error resulted in a mistake” and apologized to the families involved.

Jackson’s body was exhumed after her family told the mortuary another woman was in her casket during a Jan. 29 viewing.

The woman in the casket was Evelyn Jackson. She was not related to Imogene Jackson.

Chris Lines, spokesman for the Department of Regulatory Agencies, said a mortuary employee at first tried to convince the family that the right body was in the casket.

Imogene Jackson’s relatives said mortuary officials did not figure out where her body was until the next day, hours before her scheduled funeral.

Pipkin Mortuary said at the time that it was investigating what happened so the mistake was not repeated.

Investigators with the Department of Regulatory Agencies also concluded that Pipkin Mortuary failed to lock its embalming room, failed to maintain a sanitary facility, and used a wooden board instead of the required nonporous table to hold remains.

The mortuary also failed to register under a new state law that took effect Jan. 1. State officials ordered Pipkin to close by Feb. 9 until the investigation was completed. It can reopen Wednesday.

Lines said the state can revoke the mortuary’s license if it fails comply with its probation conditions, which include random monthly checkups.