A judge in Colorado has rejected a plea deal for the owners of a funeral home accused of storing nearly 190 decomposing bodies in a bug-infested building. The decision came after family members of the deceased objected to the proposed 15 to 20-year sentence, arguing it was far too lenient given the severity of the crimes. State District Judge Eric Bentley criticized the plea agreement, stating it did not adequately reflect the harm caused by the offenses.
The owners, Carie and Jon Hallford, ran the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, where they allegedly allowed dozens of bodies to decompose over a period of several years. The building was reportedly filled with maggots and unsanitary conditions, and many families were misled into believing they had received cremated remains that were not their loved ones.
In court, family members expressed the deep emotional distress they had suffered. Tanya Wilson, who lost her mother, described finding her mother’s remains on a floor covered with maggots, a sight that would “permanently mark her soul.” Samantha Naranjo, whose grandmother’s body was also mishandled, said it was hard for her to enjoy the holiday season, as her thoughts were consumed by the funeral home’s gruesome conditions.
The Hallfords pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse last year. Carie Hallford’s lawyer argued that the proposed plea deal was reasonable and would provide closure for the families. However, multiple relatives disagreed, with some demanding that Carie Hallford receive nearly 200 years in prison—one year for each body found in the funeral home.
In addition to the abuse charges, the Hallfords have also admitted to defrauding the US Small Business Administration of nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds. They reportedly spent the money on luxury items, including a GMC Yukon, vacations, and cryptocurrency, while clients paid for cremations that were never carried out.
The investigation into the funeral home is ongoing, with authorities continuing to identify the remains stored in the building, some of which had been neglected for over a decade.
