Judge sentences Colorado funeral home owner who kept woman's body inside a hearse for more than a year

The former owner of a Colorado funeral home was sentenced on Monday to 18 months in prison. In April, Miles Harford pleaded guilty to one felony count of abuse of a corpse and theft, a misdemeanor.  

More than a year ago police found the remains of a 63-year-old woman in a hearse that had been parked on a Denver street for about 18 months. Her name was Christina Rosales, and her family thought they had been provided with Rosales' cremated remains. They had actually been given the ashes of a different, unidentified person who died.

Boxes of cremated remains were also found in Harford's rental home on Quitman Street in Denver. Harford was being evicted from the home at the time.

Harford said he was sorry in court on Monday before the judge handed down the sentence. Eighteen months was the maximum that Harford could have faced.

Denver District Attorney John Walsh said in a prepared statement that Harford caused "terrible pain" to many different families.

"It is our hope that this sentence will provide the family and friends of the deceased with some measure of justice," Walsh said. "Harford systematically and shockingly violated his professional and moral obligations, and, for that, he is now being held accountable."

Harford's funeral home closed about a year-and-a-half before he was arrested. Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services was located in Littleton.