In a chilling revelation that shocked the community of Penrose, Coloradothe owners of the funeral home Return to Nature Funeral Home, Jon y Carrie Hallfordface justice after the discovery of almost 200 bodies in an advanced state of decomposition in their facilities.
The couple, accused of corpse abusepleaded guilty to 191 charges, including fatal errors such as burying the wrong bodies. The plea agreements, preliminarily accepted by the court, establish that Jon Hallford could face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, while Carie Hallford You could get between 15 and 20 years.
The final sentence will be handed down next April 18, 2025According to the prosecutor of the 4th Judicial District, Michael Allenwho emphasized the enormous emotional impact of the case on the affected families, according to reports from ABC News.
Simultaneously, the Hallfords also face after admitting to conspiring to commit electronic fraudincluding the diversion of more than $800,000 of relief funds from the COVID-19 pandemic and the collection of funeral services not performed. The hearing for this case is set for March 20, 2025with the possibility of an additional penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison for each one.
The district attorney, Michael Allenpointed out that there is a possibility that the state and federal sentences could be concurrent, which would imply that the sentences could be served simultaneously. However, this point will be determined by the respective courts during the sentencing hearings.
The initial macabre discovery at the funeral home Return to Naturelocated in Penrose, marked the beginning of an investigation that exposed the alarming practices of its owners. In October 2023neighbors alerted the authorities about a strong and unpleasant smell coming from the facilities.
Intervention by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office led to the discovery of almost 200 bodies in an advanced state of decomposition, some of which had remained there since 2019.
The place, which operated as a funeral home and offered cremation and burial services, evidenced a worrying abandonment of legal and ethical obligations towards the families of the deceased. According to the investigation, the couple not only left the bodies unprocessed for years, but also engaged in fraudulent practices, such as delivering urns with dry concrete mix instead of real ashes, according to media reports.
The discovery of the bodies at the funeral home left a deep emotional wound on the families of the victims, many of whom entrusted their loved ones to the institution with the expectation of receiving a dignified and respectful service. In the words of Allenthis case has represented “a huge and emotional struggle for all the families present,” and the psychological damage caused is something from which they will “probably never recover.”
Relatives of the victims were confident that their loved ones would be buried or cremated according to their wishes. Instead, they were met with a devastating fraud that violated that trust in the most painful way. In addition to the direct impact, this case has generated a broad debate about the regulation and supervision of funeral homes in the state, underscoring the importance of strengthening controls to prevent similar situations from occurring again.
Carie Hallford’s bail was withdrawn during the hearing on Friday, November 22 and she is required to remain in custody. His legal representative did not go into details with ABC Newswhile his partner, Jon, was already detained.
