Jon and Carie Hallford, the owners of a funeral home, pleaded guilty on Friday for letting 189 bodies deteriorate in a dilapidated structure, deceiving the deceased’s loved ones into believing they were cremated.
The Hallfords each pled guilty to 191 charges of corpse abuse involving 189 deteriorated bodies and two cases of wrongly buried dead. The pair has also agreed to pay compensation. We have not yet determined the amount they will have to pay.
The plea agreements would drop additional allegations of theft, forgery, and money laundering.
According to the couple’s plea deals, Jon Hallford will receive a 20-year prison sentence while Carie Hallford will serve 15 to 20 years. The court has scheduled their sentence for April 18.
When The Associated Press approached Carie Hallford’s attorney, he declined to comment. The public defender’s office, which does not comment on individual cases, represents Jon Hallford.
Six persons opposed the plea deals because, according to prosecutors, the length of the Hallfords’ proposed terms was insufficient considering the couple’s conduct.
Judge Eric Bentley has granted the opportunity for these six individuals to address the court prior to the Hallfords’ sentencing. In the event that Bentley chooses to reject the plea deals, the Hallfords will have the option to withdraw their guilty pleas and proceed with a trial.
What Did Jon and Carie Hallford Do?
This Article Includes
Jon and Carie Hallford were highly proactive in their actions. They took matters into their own hands and made a significant impact. Their actions were not passive or idle; they were decisive and purposeful. Jon and Carie Hallford actively sought solutions and implemented them effectively. They did not wait for others to take action; they took the initiative and made a difference. Their proactive approach sets them apart and demonstrates their commitment to making a positive change.
According to prosecutors, Jon and Carie Hallford allegedly misused customers’ payments and almost $900,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, which were intended to support their business, to fund a luxurious lifestyle. Court documents reveal that the couple spent the money on extravagant cars, laser body sculpting, trips to Las Vegas and Florida, $31,000 in cryptocurrency, and various other high-end purchases.
The Hallfords also pled guilty to federal fraud charges last month in a plea agreement that admitted they defrauded clients and the federal government.
Living Without Loved Ones Remains
Customers of Return to Nature dispersed what they thought were their loved ones’ ashes in important areas, only to discover that they were actually throwing concrete into the wind.
“My mom’s last wish was for her remains to be scattered in a place she loved, not rotting away in a building,” Tanya Wilson, who believed the ashes she spread in Hawaii were fake, told The Associated Press in an article from October 2023, when the bodies were discovered. “Any peace that we had, thinking that we honored her wishes, you know, was just completely ripped away from us.”
Prosecutor Rachael Powell offered a far more gloomy picture than spirits sleeping on Hawaii’s beaches.
“The bodies were laying on the ground, stacked on shelves, left on gurneys, stacked on top of each other or just piled in rooms,” she said of the decayed bodies.
Powell stated that the families of the bodies discovered in the building “have been intensely and forever outraged.”
A Gruesome Scene
Last year, residents of Penrose, located approximately 30 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, made a grisly discovery when they detected a foul odor emanating from a nearby building.
A terrible sight confronted authorities: bodies stacked atop each other, some teeming with flies. Some remains were too deteriorated for visual recognition, and the facility was so toxic that responders wore hazmat suits. Even with the necessary equipment, responders could only stay inside for short periods of time.
The uncovering of the decomposed remains prompted Colorado lawmakers to tighten up what were some of the most lenient regulations for funeral homes in the nation.