Funeral Home Owners Who Left Bodies to Rot Face Federal Charges

Owners of a Colorado funeral home accused of grossly mishandling human remains have been indicted on federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges.

Jon and Carie Hallford, who jointly owned and operated Return to Nature Funeral Home until it was closed by authorities in October 2023, are already facing criminal charges under Colorado law, including for abuse of a corpse.

The federal indictment claims the Hallfords repeatedly failed to provide the core service Return to Nature promised its customers—either a cremation or a burial.

The fifteen-count indictment also accuses the couple of lying to the US Small Business Administration in order to obtain around $882,000 in disaster relief funds made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act.

Among other things, federal prosecutors claim the Hallfords falsely said they were “not engaged in any illegal activity” when in reality they were actively engaged in a scheme to defraud Return to Nature’s customers.

Prosecutors say the Hallfords failed to cremate or bury approximately 190 bodies, collecting around $130,000 from families and loved ones to instead let the bodies rot in a facility in Penrose, Colo.

Arrest affidavits filed in the Hallfords’ state cases say that bodies in various states of decomposition were recovered from nearly every room in the 2,500 square foot facility. Some were in body bags, others were exposed. In some cases, bodies were just stacked on the floor.

The defendants allegedly concealed the gruesome scene by covering the windows and doors and making up excuses for—and trying to cover up—the foul odor emanating from the building, according to the various indictments.

Some families who had expected to receive their family’s ashes instead received urns filled with dry concrete mix, according to prosecutors.

The funeral home also buried the wrong body on more than one occasion including as a substitute for a US Army Veteran in one instance, according to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation arrest affidavit for Jon Hallford.

The Hallfords made their initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak Monday in the US District Court for the District of Colorado. The case has been assigned to Judge Nina Y. Wang.

Assistant federal defender Kilie Latendresse appeared for Jon Hallford. Robert Charles Melihercik, a Denver-based defense attorney appointed by the court, appeared for Carie Hallford.

Latendresse didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg Law’s request for comment. Melihercik declined to comment.

The case is United States v. Hallford, D. Colo., No. 1:23-cr-00113, arrest and appearance 4/15/24.