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Former Lake County Coroner Shannon Lee Kent and his wife, Staci Dawn Kent, of Leadville, pleaded not guilty during a hearing at the Summit County Justice Center on Monday, May 17, to charges related to alleged tampering with a deceased human body.
The Kents, both 45 years old, were arrested in February after officers with the Silverthorne Police Department discovered a badly decaying body that had been left in their Silverthorne funeral home for several months. The deceased was later identified by the Summit County Coroner’s Office as 42-year-old Victor Akubuo, who died in a car crash in Park County on July 30, 2020.
Photos from Silverthorne Police Department
Court documents are providing new insights into the investigation of Lake County Coroner Shannon Lee Kent and his wife, Staci Dawn Kent, who were arrested on charges of attempted tampering with a deceased human body last week.
Earlier this month, authorities discovered a badly deteriorating body that was allegedly left in a coffin for several months at the former Kent-Bailey Funeral Home in Silverthorne. According to court records, the Kents tried to remove the body during the investigation, despite legally being barred from participating in any funerary activities in Colorado.
The body was identified as Victor Akubuo, 42, of southern California, according to Park County Coroner David Kintz Jr.
The Lake County coroner and his wife were arrested in Leadville on Thursday night after a body was discovered in their old funeral home. It was believed to have been there for a “number of months.”
Members of the Silverthorne Police Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office took Coroner Shannon Lee Kent and his wife, Staci, into custody at 8:35 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of tampering with a deceased human body, according to a released from SPD.
Shannon Kent is also being investigated for violating bond conditions.
Before the arrests, police found a human body in a coffin at the funeral home previously owned by the Kents at 561 Blue River Parkway in Silverthorne on Tuesday, according to a release from the SPD.
Lake County coroner, wife arrested on charges of tampering with a dead body
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and last updated 2021-02-20 00:57:59-05
SILVERTHORNE, Colo. â The Lake County coroner and his wife have been arrested on charges of tampering a deceased body, officials announced on Friday.
Coroner Shannon Lee Kent and Staci Kent were arrested shortly after 8:30 p.m. Friday in Leadville, according to the Silverthorne Police Department.
Investigators had found a dead body in a coffin at the Bailey-Kent Funeral Homes in Silverthorne and suspected that the body had been there for a number of months.
The Park County coroner s office on Friday identified the victim as Victor Akubuo, 42, of California. Akubuo had died in a semi-truck crash in Park County in July, and his body was taken to the Kents funeral home in August.