THORNTON, Colo. — A Denver metro family mourning the loss of their loved one has been impacted by the Apollo Funeral home investigation.
On Feb. 9, Colorado State Patrol responded to West 84th Avenue and Huron Street in Thornton for a crash. Dondi Wilson told 9NEWS his brother, Dirk Wilson, was badly hurt.
"It wasn't necessary. It didn't need to happen and it was preventable, let's put it that way," Dondi Wilson said.
CSP said the driver never stopped. Dirk Wilson was rushed to the hospital. Dondi Wilson said he died a month later from his injuries. Wilson said he had been searching for his brother to tell him their father had died.
"I was crushed," Wilson explained as he began to cry. "At least we know where he is now and he's at peace."
That peace was shattered when Wilson called the funeral home he had pre-paid for cremation services for his brother in 2018. That call was to Apollo Funeral Services.
"I knew my parents couldn't afford it if something happened so I wanted to take care of it," Wilson explained as he held the receipt for the pre-arrangement for his brother. "I did [take care of it] or at least I thought I did."
The former director of Apollo was recently arrested for abuse of a corpse, forgery and theft. Investigators found cremated remains inside his home of at least 30 people who died between 2012 and 2021.
Wilson paid $1,200 in 2018 to Apollo. That money was now gone with no services to show for it.
"The man stole our peace of mind," Wilson added as he fought back tears. "You know you’re mourning, you’re grieving and then you know, this happens."
But then something else happened. Wilson called the Apollo Funeral Services victims hotline, and Denver Police answered. They covered Dirk's cremation costs.
"I'm just very thankful for the Denver PD, I mean very very thankful," Wilson added.
CSP said the suspect's car was a silver or gold Honda sedan. Wilson encourages anyone with any information to come forward. He also wishes there were harsher penalties for those who leave a hit-and-run scene.
Denver Police said the Apollo Funeral Services investigation is ongoing. Authorities said they've spoken to more than 100 people who were clients of Apollo Funeral Services or were impacted in some way.
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