DENVER (AP) — State inspectors in Colorado found decomposing bodies behind a hidden door in a funeral home operated by a county coroner, who told them he may have given fake ashes to relatives who had sought cremations, authorities disclosed Thursday.

The bodies were discovered Wednesday in a room behind a door hidden by a cardboard display during an inspection of Davis Mortuary in Pueblo, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) south of Denver. Inspectors found a “strong odor of decomposition” after arriving at the business, and Brian Cotter, an owner of the mortuary and the county coroner, had asked them not to enter the room, according to a document from state regulators.

For years, Colorado had some of the weakest rules for funeral homes in the nation, with no routine inspections or quali

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