Jon and Carie Hallford, the married co-owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado, pleaded guilty on Friday to abusing corpses after nearly 200 decomposing bodies were discovered at their facility.
The grim find was made in October 2023 at the funeral home’s Penrose location after residents reported a foul odor emanating from the building. Fremont County Sheriff’s Office investigators uncovered remains dating back as far as 2019.
The Hallfords pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse, including two cases where incorrect bodies were buried, according to 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen, whose office is handling the case.
The judge accepted the couple’s guilty pleas during a court hearing but has not yet approved the plea agreements. A final decision will be made during sentencing, scheduled for next year.