By MATTHEW BROWN and COLLEEN SLEVIN

DENVER (AP) — State inspectors in Colorado found about 20 decomposing bodies behind a hidden door in a funeral home owned by a county coroner, who told them he may have given fake ashes to next of kin who sought cremations, authorities disclosed Thursday.

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

Colorado long had some of the weakest oversight of funeral homes in the nation, with no ro

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