A Colorado funeral home owner who hid nearly 190 bodies in a crumbling building and gave grieving families fake ashes has been sentenced to 20 years in prison — the maximum punishment for his crimes.
Jon Hallford, who ran the Return to Nature Funeral Home, admitted to wire fraud and defrauding families, along with misusing nearly $900,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds. He also pleaded guilty in state court to 191 counts of abuse of a corpse, for which sentencing is expected in August.
Though prosecutors sought a 15-year sentence and Hallford’s attorney asked for 10, U.S. District Judge Nina Wang handed down the harshest possible sentence. She said the emotional harm inflicted on families justified the longer term, calling it “not an ordinary fraud case.”
Before sentencing, Hallford tearfully apologized, saying he created the funeral home to help others but eventually lost control. “I still hate myself for what I’ve done,” he said.
Authorities discovered the horrific scene in 2023: a Penrose, Colorado building infested with insects and stacked with decomposing remains dating back to 2019. Families who believed their loved ones had been cremated were devastated to learn they had been given fake ashes.
In court, several families shared the trauma they experienced. One of the most emotional moments came from a young boy, Colton Sperry, who said his grandmother was like a second mom. Her body was left unattended for four years. The news caused him to fall into depression, expressing thoughts of dying just to see her again.
Derrick Johnson, another victim’s son, traveled 3,000 miles to speak in court. He said his mother was “thrown into a festering sea of death” and couldn’t stop picturing how she might have been treated. “While the bodies rotted in secret, they [the Hallfords] lived, they laughed and they dined,” he said.
Investigators said Hallford and his wife, Carie, spent their ill-gotten money on luxury goods and personal indulgences — including a GMC Yukon, an Infiniti, designer items from Gucci and Tiffany, laser body treatments, and cryptocurrency investments.
Federal agents described the funeral home building as so overrun with decomposing bodies that they had to build platforms to walk above the bodily fluids.
Carie Hallford, who also faces 191 state charges, is set to go on trial for her federal case in September.
As the sentencing concluded, victims’ families called for justice, mourning not just their loved ones, but the peace that was stolen from them.
Katie is a senior who has been on staff for three years. Her favorite type of stories to write is reviews and features. Katie’s favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry.
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