Owners of a Colorado funeral home are anticipated to plead guilty to state charges after allegations surfaced that they left 190 bodies to decay on their premises and provided families with fake ashes. The disturbing revelations involve Return to Nature Funeral Home, where Jon and Carie Hallford reportedly stored bodies in a deteriorating building near Colorado Springs dating back to 2019. Families were given dry concrete instead of the cremated remains they were promised, disrupting the grieving process for many.
Prosecutors revealed that the Hallfords indulged in lavish spending over the years, utilizing customers' funds and nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief money for personal luxuries such as laser body sculpting, expensive vehicles, trips to Las Vegas and Florida, cryptocurrency investments, and other high-end items.
Last month, the Hallfords admitted to federal fraud charges, acknowledging their deceitful practices towards customers and the government. They are now facing over 200 state charges including corpse abuse, theft, forgery, and money laundering.
Customers of Return to Nature Funeral Home unknowingly spread what they believed to be their loved ones' ashes in various locations, only to discover the disturbing truth later on. The bodies, improperly stored, were found in a state of decay last year when neighbors reported a foul odor emanating from the Penrose facility, leading to a shocking scene of bodies stacked on top of each other, some infested with insects.
The gruesome discovery prompted state legislators to enact stricter regulations on funeral homes in Colorado, which previously had some of the most lenient rules in the nation. Unlike many states, Colorado did not mandate regular inspections of funeral homes or require credentials for operators. This incident has spurred lawmakers to align the state's regulations with national standards, with significant backing from the funeral home industry.
