COLORADO SPRINGS — The owners of a mortuary in Colorado where 190 decomposing bodies were found are due to appear in court Tuesday on accusations of sexual abuse. corpses, theft, money laundering and document falsification.
Jon y Carrie Hallford son propietarios de la Funeraria Return to Naturein Penrose, where investigators found dozens of bodies packed together, some dating back to 2019, according to a federal affidavit.
Relatives were falsely told that their loved ones were cremated, and they were given materials other than ashes, according to court records.
Several families who hired that funeral home reported that the FBI confirmed to them privately that the remains of their loved ones were among the bodies found.
They face 190 charges
The Hallfords were arrested in Oklahoma last month after reportedly fleeing justice in Colorado. They are jailed with bail required at $2 million. They are charged with approximately 190 charges of abuse of a corpse, five of robbery, four of money laundering and more than 50 charges of falsification of documents.
According to court records, Jon Hallford is represented by the public defender’s office, which does not comment to the press. Carie Hallford is represented by attorney Michael Stuzynski, who declined to comment.
After the bodies were removed from the funeral home in Penrose, about an hour south of Denver, authorities set about identifying them using fingerprints, dental records, dentures and DNA.
The Hallfords’ funeral business is centered in Colorado Springs, just west of Penrose.
Source: With information from AP
