Colorado man who abused nearly 200 corpses gets 40 years, families call him a 'monster'

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado ceremonial location proprietor who stashed 189 decomposing bodies successful a gathering implicit 4 years and gave grieving families fake ashes was sentenced to 40 years successful authorities situation Friday.

During the sentencing hearing, household members told Judge Eric Bentley they person had recurring nightmares astir decomposing soma and maggots since learning what happened to their loved ones. They called suspect Jon Hallford a “monster” and “vile” and had urged the justice to springiness him the maximum condemnation of 50 years.

Hallford apologized earlier his sentencing and said helium would regret his actions for the remainder of his life.

His erstwhile wife, Carie Hallford, who co-owned the Return to Nature Funeral Home, is owed to beryllium sentenced April 24. She faces 25 to 35 years successful prison. Both pleaded blameworthy successful December to astir 200 counts of corpse maltreatment nether an statement with prosecutors.

During the years they were stashing bodies, the Hallfords spent lavishly, according to tribunal documents. That included purchasing a GMC Yukon and an Infiniti worthy implicit $120,000 combined, on with $31,000 successful cryptocurrency, luxury items from stores similar Gucci and Tiffany & Co. and laser assemblage sculpting.

The Hallfords besides pleaded blameworthy to national fraud charges aft prosecutors said they cheated the authorities retired of astir $900,000 successful pandemic-era tiny concern aid. Jon Hallford was sentenced to 20 years successful situation successful that case, and Carie Hallford’s sentencing is pending.

“Clearly this is simply a transgression motivated by greed,” authoritative Shelby Crow said. The Hallfords charged much than $1,200 per customer, and the wealth the mates spent connected luxury items would person covered the outgo to cremate each of the bodies galore times over, Crow said.

One of the household members who spoke astatine the proceeding was Kelly Mackeen, whose mother's remains were handled by Return to Nature.

“I’m a girl whose parent was treated similar yesterday’s trash and dumped successful a tract near to rot with hundreds of others,” Mackeen said. “I’m heartbroken, and I inquire God each time for grace.”

As they spoke Jon Hallford sat astatine a array to their right, wearing orangish jailhouse attire and looking straight ahead. The courtroom’s woody benches were afloat of relatives of the deceased and besides journalists.

The Hallfords stored the bodies successful a gathering successful the tiny municipality of Penrose, southbound of Colorado Springs, from 2019 until 2023, erstwhile investigators responding to reports of a stench from the gathering discovered the corpses.

Bodies were recovered passim the building, immoderate stacked connected apical of each other, with swarms of bugs and decomposition fluid covering the floors, investigators said. The remains — including adults, infants and fetuses — were stored astatine country temperature. Investigators judge the Hallfords gave families adust factual that mimicked ashes.

The bodies were identified implicit months with fingerprints, DNA and different methods.

Families learned the ashes they had been given, and past dispersed oregon kept astatine home, weren't really their loved ones' remains. Many said it undid their grieving process, others had nightmares and struggled with guilt that they fto their relatives down.

The ceremonial location owners besides pleaded blameworthy to national fraud charges aft prosecutors said they cheated the authorities retired of astir $900,000 successful pandemic-era tiny concern aid.

Jon Hallford was sentenced to 20 years successful situation successful that case. He told the justice helium opened Return to Nature to marque a affirmative interaction successful people’s lives, “then everything got wholly retired of control, particularly me.”

“I inactive hatred myself for what I’ve done,” helium said astatine his sentencing past June.

Carie Hallford's national sentencing is acceptable for March 16.

During the years they were stashing bodies, the Hallfords spent lavishly, according to tribunal documents. That included purchasing a GMC Yukon and an Infiniti worthy implicit $120,000 combined, on with $31,000 successful cryptocurrency, luxury items from stores similar Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and laser assemblage sculpting.

One of the recovered bodies was that of a erstwhile Army sergeant archetypal people who was thought to person been buried astatine a veterans’ cemetery, said FBI cause Andrew Cohen.

When investigators exhumed the woody casket astatine the cemetery, they recovered the remains of a idiosyncratic of a antithetic sex inside, helium said. The veteran, who was not identified successful court, was aboriginal fixed a ceremonial with afloat subject honors astatine Pikes Peak National Cemetery, helium said.

The corpse maltreatment revelations spurred changes to Colorado's lax ceremonial location regulations.

The AP antecedently reported that the Hallfords missed taxation payments, were evicted from 1 of their properties and were sued for unpaid bills, according to nationalist records and interviews with radical who worked with them.

In a uncommon decision, authorities District Judge Eric Bentley past twelvemonth rejected erstwhile plea agreements betwixt the Hallfords and prosecutors that called for up to 20 years successful prison. Family members of the deceased said the agreements were excessively lenient.

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