Co-owner of Colorado funeral home where dozens of bodies discovered to be sentenced after guilty plea on state charges

Nearly two years after deputies in southern Colorado made the grisly discovery of 190 bodies in various states of decomposition inside a derelict building operated by Return to Nature Funeral Home, the co-owner of the business will be sentenced. Jon Hallford appeared in an El Paso County courtroom on Friday morning for a sentencing hearing where dozens of families are expected to deliver victim impact statements.

Jon Hallford co-owned the funeral home with his wife, Carie Hallford. Both have pleaded guilty to state charges in the case, including abuse of a corpse, forgery and money laundering. 

The investigation into the funeral home began in early October 2023, when neighbors reported a foul odor to the Fremont County Sheriff's Office. Investigators discovered at least 190 improperly stored bodies inside the building, which was demolished last year. 

The couple was arrested in Oklahoma in November 2023 after prosecutors claimed they were trying to flee from arrest. 

Jon and Carie Hallford also faced charges in an indictment from the federal government for allegedly misusing nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. They each pleaded guilty to defrauding customers in October 2024, but Carie Hallford changed her plea earlier this year and then changed it again.  

Jon Hallford was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June after pleading guilty to federal charges. Some families have expressed frustration that his federal sentence will be served concurrently with El Paso County's sentence.   

Earlier this month, Carie Hallford agreed to plead guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In exchange, she will receive a 15-year maximum sentence.