Colorado funeral home owners plead guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse

The joined co-owners of Colorado’s Return to Nature Funeral Home, erstwhile known for its environmentally affable burials and cremations, person pleaded blameworthy to corpse maltreatment crimes aft nearly 200 improperly stored and decomposing bodies were discovered astatine their facilities.

Jon and Carie Hallford had each been deed with 191 counts of corpse abuse for the bodies recovered decaying and 2 times wherever the incorrect bodies were buried. Additional charges of forgery, theft and wealth laundering volition beryllium dismissed arsenic portion of their plea agreement.

Authorities initially launched their probe into the concern backmost successful October 2023, aft residents complained of a foul smell emanating from the ceremonial location successful Penrose, located immoderate 30 miles southbound of Colorado Springs.

A consequent hunt of the maggot and fly-infested ceremonial home turned up 190 bodies — among them the remains of radical who died arsenic acold backmost arsenic 2019  The Hallfords were arrested past November.

“The bodies were contained successful disposable assemblage bags … partially wrapped successful sheets, wrapped successful integrative garbage bags and duct tape, oregon exposed with nary covering astatine all,” authoritative Rachael Powell said. “Some were adjacent stuffed into integrative totes.”

Following the grisly discovery, authorities pieced unneurotic a strategy successful which the mates had been defrauding customers who believed their loved ones would beryllium buried oregon cremated, according to tribunal documents.

They antecedently admitted to collecting much than $130,000 implicit a four-year clip play without providing their promised services. In immoderate cases, they gave families urns of adust factual premix alternatively than their loved ones’ cremated remains.

On Friday, a judge accepted some Jon and Carie Hallford’s blameworthy pleas, entered arsenic portion of a woody with the prosecution. They each look up to 20 years successful situation and are scheduled to beryllium sentenced successful April.

“Obviously this lawsuit has been a huge, affectional conflict for each of the families that are present,” Allen said extracurricular the El Paso County courthouse. “The interaction connected these household members has been immense.”

Return to Nature Funeral location archetypal opened immoderate 7 years agone with the committedness of providing burials and cremations that are “as earthy arsenic possible,” according to its now-defunct website. That means the bodies are not embalmed, and are buried successful biodegradable caskets. The tract besides touted earthy cremations without the usage of chemicals oregon unnatural materials.

The Hallfords besides confessed to abstracted charges related to a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration of nearly $900,000 successful COVID-19 pandemic alleviation funds.

They pleaded blameworthy past month to 1 number each of conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud. They’re are slated to beryllium sentenced successful March and could look up to 15 years successful prison.

With News Wire Services