The owners of a Colorado funeral home have been arrested after almost 200 decaying corpses were found to be improperly stored at their facility. Jon and Carie Hallford, the proprietors of Return to Nature Funeral Home, were taken into custody on Wednesday on charges including abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering, and forgery.
The discoveries at this small-town funeral home in Penrose, roughly 30 miles south of Colorado Springs, have sent shockwaves through the community and the nation. The state’s district attorney, Michael Allen, warned that the details of this case are “absolutely shocking” and that further charges may be brought as the investigation progresses.
The investigation began on October 3rd after authorities received reports of a putrid odor emanating from the funeral home. What they discovered inside was described as horrific by Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper, who refused to reveal more details during a press conference held several days later.
According to its website, Return to Nature specializes in green and natural burials, where bodies are allowed to decompose without the use of metal caskets or chemicals. While this practice is legal in Colorado, the law also requires that unembalmed bodies be refrigerated within 24 hours of death.
Despite these regulations, investigators found that the remains at Return to Nature were improperly stored. It is unclear at this time whether these bodies were intended for natural burial, but some families have come forward claiming that they were given fake ashes made of dry concrete. Furthermore, a crematory that was doing business with the Hallfords previously sued them for unknown reasons.
Despite these red flags, it appears that state regulators did not take action or inspect the funeral home until it was too late. In fact, the company’s registration expired last November, but no one seemed to notice. This is just the latest example of the lax funeral home regulations in Colorado, where a disaster declaration had to be issued by the governor in order to free up additional resources for the investigation.
Jon Hallford, who’s accused of improperly storing 189 decomposing bodies, didn’t utter a word when I, and victim’s family members, wanted to get his side of the story. Hallford, and his wife Carie, will face trial on over 200 criminal charges. @KRDO_13 pic.twitter.com/gYH8SdroNg
— Sean Rice KRDO (@SeanRiceTV) February 9, 2024
The situation is so grave that the FBI has been called in to assist with the case. These highly trained agents, who have dealt with mass casualty events like 9/11 and airline crashes, are now sifting through the remains to identify the victims, some of whom have been reduced to mere bone fragments.
So far, 110 individuals have been identified using fingerprints, dental records, and medical hardware, and 25 bodies have been released to their families. However, the process of identifying all 190 individuals is ongoing, and it is unclear how long this investigation will take.
