A Colorado funeral home owner was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday for egregiously abusing corpses and defrauding grieving families, as well as committing federal fraud related to COVID-19 relief funds.
Jon Hallford, the owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, had stashed nearly 190 dead bodies in a rundown facility, and had sent fake ashes to families in their time of mourning.
Hallford pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court last year while also settling 191 counts of corpse abuse in a state court, with a separate sentencing set for August.
At the federal sentencing hearing, prosecutors recommended a 15-year term, while Hallford’s attorney argued for a 10-year sentence.
However, U.S. District Judge Nina Wang deemed that the emotional toll on families and the larger implications of Hallford’s actions necessitated the maximum sentence.
“This is not an ordinary fraud case,” she stated, emphasizing the severity of the crime.
During the court proceedings, Hallford expressed remorse, admitting that while he initially opened Return to Nature to help families, things spiraled out of control.
He conveyed his deep regret to the judge, saying, “I am so deeply sorry for my actions. I still hate myself for what I’ve done.”
The investigation revealed a grim scene; authorities discovered the bodies in 2023, stacked in filthy conditions at a property in Penrose, Colorado, a small town situated roughly two hours south of Denver.
The discovery devastated many families, as they learned their loved ones had not been cremated and that the ashes they had received were counterfeit.
In some instances, families were handed the wrong bodies for burial, further complicating their grieving process.
As a result, numerous relatives reported emotional turmoil, with some experiencing nightmares and others grappling with guilt and uncertainty about their loved ones’ fates.
During the sentencing, a victim named Colton Sperry shared an emotional account of his experience.
He spoke of how his grandmother, who passed away in 2019 and was like a second mother to him, remained in the funeral home for four years before the exposure of the scandal.
This painful revelation led to Sperry falling into depression, prompting his parents to seek help for him, which eventually included therapy and an emotional support dog.
“I miss my grandma so much,” he shared with tears in his eyes.
Federal prosecutors accused the Hallfords of misappropriating nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, spending that money alongside customers’ payments on luxury items, including a GMC Yukon and Infiniti valued at over $120,000, $31,000 in cryptocurrency, and indulgent purchases from brands like Gucci and Tiffany & Co.
Another family member, Derrick Johnson, described how his mother’s body was subjected to disturbing conditions, expressing horror at the thought of her being in such a place.
“I lie awake wondering, was she naked? Was she stacked on top of others like lumber?” he recounted.
Johnson lamented that while the Hallfords lived their lives, indulging in luxury, families were left in despair over the injustices regarding their deceased loved ones.
Hallford’s attorney, Laura H. Suelau, petitioned for a reduced sentence, noting that her client recognized the wrongness of his actions and had not attempted to justify them.
However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff described the abhorrent conditions investigators encountered in the building, where bodies were piled so high that agents needed to use boards to walk over fluids that had accumulated.
While Hallford has received his federal sentence, his wife, Carie Hallford, is scheduled to go to trial in September for the same federal case.
Additionally, she faces the same 191 counts of corpse abuse in her upcoming state court hearing in August.
image source from：npr
