Colorado Funeral Home Scandal: Owners Arrested After Discovery of Nearly 200 Bodies

The owners face multiple charges, including abuse of a corpse and money laundering, following years of complaints and regulatory failures.

Nearly 200 bodies were discovered in a decrepit building used by Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado, leading to the arrest of owners Jon and Carie Hallford on multiple charges including abuse of a corpse and money laundering.
The discovery followed years of complaints about the funeral home's practices, including concerns raised by the Fremont County coroner in 2020 that went unaddressed due to Colorado's lax funeral home regulations.
The Hallfords allegedly used funds from grieving families for lavish personal expenses, including vehicles, cryptocurrency, and luxury shopping, while failing to properly cremate or bury the bodies as promised.
Some families received concrete dust instead of their loved ones' ashes, and the conditions in which the bodies were stored were described as 'unimaginable' due to decomposition and infestation.
The case has sparked outrage and calls for stricter regulation of the funeral home industry in Colorado, as families seek justice and closure.