Colorado Funeral Home Scandal Reaches Sentencing
Two years after nearly 200 decaying bodies were discovered inside a rural Colorado funeral home, the man responsible is set to be sentenced for one of the state’s most disturbing crimes.
On Friday, Jon Hallford, owner of the Return to Nature Funeral Home, will appear in state court to face 191 counts of corpse abuse. Prosecutors say he and his wife, Carie, deceived grieving families by promising cremations while stashing bodies in a dilapidated, bug-infested building in Penrose, about 35 miles from Colorado Springs.
Instead of returning real cremated remains, Hallford allegedly gave families dry concrete powder resembling ashes.
A Gruesome Discovery
Authorities say the Hallfords began their scheme in 2019, allowing bodies to pile up for years. Investigators later found victims in advanced states of decomposition—some unclothed, some lying on floors in inches of bodily fluids. Four sets of remains have yet to be identified.
The scandal shocked Colorado and highlighted glaring gaps in the state’s regulation of funeral homes, long considered among the weakest in the nation. Just this week, officials uncovered another 20 decomposing bodies at a separate funeral home in Pueblo, raising new questions about oversight.
Families Demand Justice
Friday’s sentencing will allow family members to testify about the anguish caused by the deception. Tanya Wilson, who hired the Hallfords to cremate her mother, said she later learned the ashes her family spread in Hawaii were not genuine.
“To me it’s the heart of the case. It’s the worst part of the crime,” Wilson said. She and others are urging Judge Eric Bentley to reject the plea agreement, which would allow Hallford’s state sentence to run concurrently with his 20-year federal fraud sentence. If accepted, Hallford could be released far earlier than families believe is just.
“The scale of this is staggering,” Wilson said. “There needs to be accountability.”
Fraud and Luxury Spending
In addition to corpse abuse, Jon Hallford previously pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges. He and his wife defrauded the government of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid, money they used to purchase luxury goods including jewelry from Tiffany & Co., a $120,000 GMC Yukon and Infiniti, laser body sculpting treatments, and cryptocurrency investments.
What Comes Next
If Judge Bentley accepts the plea agreement, Hallford’s state sentence will overlap with his federal prison term. If rejected, the case could proceed toward trial.
Carie Hallford, who has pleaded guilty to the same charges, has not yet been sentenced.
For families still grappling with grief, Friday’s hearing represents both a moment of reckoning and a painful reminder of how their loved ones were treated.
