Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter submitted a letter of resignation through his attorney on Thursday, not long after the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said it had removed the remains of two dozen bodies from the Davis Mortuary, which Cotter and his brother Chris Cotter operated.
“Mr. Cotter was hospitalized for a cardiac event following the events of August 20, 2025. Following his discharge, he’s acted swiftly to prioritize the concerns of the public as it relates to his position as Coroner. To that end, he hereby announces his retirement and submits his resignation for your acceptance,” David Beller, an attorney with the law firm Recht Kornfeld, wrote in a letter to the Pueblo County Board of Commissioners.
The letter said Cotter’s effective resignation date would be Sept. 2, the Tuesday after Labor Day.
“Mr. Cotter has been a dedicated public servant to the people of Pueblo since 2014. He offers this resignation as a final act of public service, thus allowing the Coroner’s Office to continue its superb service to the people of this community–a public that Mr. Cotter holds dear,” Kornfeld continued.
Cotter’s resignation follows earlier calls that he step down, including from Gov. Jared Polis. Polis had declared a disaster emergency at the mortuary and directed state funds to assist in the investigation and hazardous cleanup at the facility, as well as efforts to stabilize the county’s coroner operations. One of the bodies the CBI removed was of someone who had died 15 years earlier.
“I’m glad that Mr. Cotter has resigned. This is the first step in addressing the significant difficulties and pain he has caused the families impacted and the entire community. I’m grateful that he heeded the calls of the public to ensure that Pueblo County residents get the help needed in one of their darkest hours. I expect he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Polis said in a statement.
This is a developing story.
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