In Penrose, Colorado, a shocking situation has unfolded at Return to Nature Funeral Home, where owners Jon and Carie Hallford have been taken into custody after authorities discovered the remains of 189 people in various stages of decay at their facility.
The couple was arrested in Wagoner, Oklahoma, on several serious charges: mistreating human remains, laundering money, and creating false documents, as stated in an email from law enforcement to the families affected. The Hallfords are currently being held in jail in Muskogee County according to the Associated Press.
Attempts to contact the Hallfords for their side of the story were unsuccessful. Their personal contact information is not available, and the phone number for the funeral home is no longer in service.
The discovery of the remains was made on October 4th when local authorities were called to investigate a terrible smell coming from the funeral home’s building. Initially, it was thought that there were about 115 bodies, but that number grew to 189 by the time the removal of the remains was completed in mid-October.
A troubling detail emerged when, on October 5th, Jon Hallford spoke with a state funeral home regulator over the phone. During the conversation, he tried to hide the fact that the bodies were not stored properly and admitted to having a “problem” at the Penrose location. He also made an odd claim that he was practicing taxidermy at the funeral home. These facts are from a document issued by state officials.
Despite these problems, Return to Nature Funeral Home, which was established in 2017, continued to operate. The business, which promoted cremations and natural burials that did not use embalming chemicals, faced increasing financial and legal troubles.
The Hallfords missed tax payments, were evicted from a property, and were sued by a crematory that had stopped working with them. These issues have been confirmed through public records and statements from those who have worked with the Hallfords.
This case has exposed the weak oversight of funeral homes in Colorado, which is considered one of the most lenient in the United States. There are no regular inspections or required qualifications for those who run these businesses.
Regulators did not check on the funeral home or reach out to Hallford until more than ten months after the funeral home’s official registration expired in November 2022.
Even though state law now allows regulators to inspect funeral homes without the owner’s permission, no additional funding has been given for these inspections.
The case brings issues about the role of government regulation and the need for stricter oversight to prevent such unacceptable situations to the forefront.
It is a double travesty for the families of the deceased who believed their loved one was being respectfully handled at such a devasting time.
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