Colorado Funeral Home Owner Sentenced to 40 Years for Storing 189 Decomposing Bodies
Jon Hallford, the owner of a Colorado funeral home, has been sentenced to 40 years in state prison after pleading guilty to nearly 200 counts of corpse abuse. The case involved the shocking discovery of 189 decomposing bodies left to decay in the Return to Nature funeral home over a four-year period.
Grieving Families Describe Nightmares and Call Defendant a 'Monster'
During the emotional sentencing hearing, family members of the deceased told Judge Eric Bentley that they have suffered recurring nightmares about decomposing flesh and maggots since learning the fate of their loved ones. They described Hallford as a 'monster' and urged the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 50 years.
Judge Bentley told Hallford that his actions caused 'unspeakable and incomprehensible' harm, testing the belief in human goodness. Hallford apologised before sentencing, stating, 'I had so many chances to put a stop to everything and walk away, but I did not. My mistakes will echo for a generation. Everything I did was wrong.'
Bodies Found Stacked and Rotting in Penrose Building
Investigators revealed that the Hallfords stored the bodies in a building in the small town of Penrose, south of Colorado Springs, from 2019 until 2023. The discovery was made after reports of a foul stench from the property. Bodies were found throughout the building, some stacked on top of each other, with swarms of bugs and decomposition fluid covering the floors.
The remains included adults, infants, and fetuses, all stored at room temperature. Identification took months using fingerprints, DNA, and other methods. In a particularly distressing detail, investigators believe the Hallfords gave grieving families dry concrete that resembled ashes instead of their loved ones' cremated remains.
Crime Motivated by Greed and Lavish Spending
Prosecutor Shelby Crow described the crimes as motivated by greed. Court documents showed that while stashing bodies, the Hallfords spent lavishly on luxury items including:
- A GMC Yukon SUV and an Infiniti luxury car worth over $120,000 combined
- $31,000 in cryptocurrency
- Expensive goods from stores such as Gucci and Tiffany
- Laser body sculpting treatments
The couple charged more than $1,200 per customer, and the money spent on luxury items would have covered the cost to cremate all of the bodies many times over.
Additional Federal Fraud Charges and Regulatory Changes
The Hallfords also pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges after prosecutors said they cheated the government out of nearly $900,000 in pandemic-era small business aid. Jon Hallford received a 20-year federal sentence to be served concurrently with his state prison term.
His former wife, Carie Hallford, who co-owned the funeral home, faces sentencing on 24 April with a potential 25 to 35 years in prison. The case has spurred significant changes to Colorado's previously lax funeral home regulations. Lawmakers passed a bill in May 2024 giving regulators greater enforcement power and requiring routine inspections of facilities.
Families' Grief and the Path to Justice
Family members spoke powerfully about their ongoing trauma. Kelly Mackeen, whose mother's remains were handled by Return to Nature, said, 'I'm a daughter whose mother was treated like yesterday's trash and dumped in a site left to rot with hundreds of others. I'm heartbroken, and I ask God every day for grace.'
Many families reported that receiving fake ashes undid their grieving process, leading to nightmares and struggles with guilt. In one particularly poignant case, investigators discovered that a former army sergeant first class thought to have been buried at a veterans' cemetery was actually among the decomposing bodies. The veteran was later given a proper funeral with full military honors.
The case represents one of the most disturbing breaches of trust in funeral home history, with consequences that will affect grieving families for years to come.
