DENVER — The owner of a funeral home in Penrose, Colorado, and his wife were both arrested after at least 189 decaying human remains were found in the facility in October.
Jon and Carrie Hallford were both arrested in Wagoner, Oklahoma. They are facing charges that include abuse of a corpse, money laundering, and forgery, according to the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Jon Hallford owns Return to Nature Funeral Homes which is located about 100 miles south of Denver, according to The Associated Press.
At the beginning of October, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was called out to the funeral home facility in Penrose regarding a foul odor, the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said. Once the sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant to search the facility, they found bodies that were improperly stored.
At least 189 human remains were found in the funeral home, officials say, according to KKTV.
The director of the state office of Funeral Home and Crematory registration spoke with Jon Hallford on the phone the following day where he reportedly tried to conceal the improper storage of the remains. According to an order from state officials obtained by the AP, he did acknowledge there was an issue and he also claimed that he did taxidermy there.
The business started in 2017. According to the AP, it offered cremations as well as “green burials.” “Green burials” are burials without embalming fluids.
The owners reportedly had missed some tax payments over the last few months. They had also been evicted from one of their properties and had been sued for unpaid bills by a crematory who recently quit working with them around a year ago, public records and employee interviews indicated, according to the AP.
The Hallfords were arrested in another state which means that they are awaiting extradition back to Colorado, KKTV reported.
