A judge in Colorado has rejected a plea deal for a funeral home owner accused of storing nearly 190 decomposing bodies in a bug-infested building, after relatives of the deceased argued the proposed 15 to 20-year sentence was far too lenient.
State district judge Eric Bentley said the proposed sentence “did not adequately reflect the harm caused by these offences”, taking the unusual step of rejecting a plea agreement reached between prosecutors and the defence.
Carie Hallford and her husband, Jon Hallford, ran the Return to Nature Funeral Home.
They are accused of leaving dozens of bodies to decompose between 2019 and 2023 in a building in Penrose, Colorado, around 103 miles south of Denver, while giving families fake ashes.
In court on Monday, multiple family members opposed the plea deal, describing the anguish of discovering that their relatives’ remains were not in the urns or ashes they had laid to rest.
Tanya Wilson said her mother had been placed on a floor covered in maggots, “leaving her mark on that floor, and leaving a permanent mark on my soul”.
Samantha Naranjo said it had been hard for her “to get excited to decorate my home with skeletons” for Halloween, as tears choked her words, “when all I can think of is the building that my grandmother’s body lay in”.
Last year, both Hallfords pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse, and Carie Hallford’s lawyer argued on Monday that the plea deal was reasonable and would provide closure.
However, Judge Bentley has now rejected the plea agreements.
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On Monday, several family members called for Carie Hallford to receive nearly 200 years in prison, assigning roughly one year for each body found.
“We are not asking for revenge, we are asking for acknowledgment, for the court to see each victim as the human being that they were,” said Derrick Johnson, whose mother’s remains were also kept in the building.
In August, authorities revealed their initial inspection of the funeral home uncovered 24 decomposing bodies hidden behind a secret door.
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The investigation is ongoing, with officials reporting slow progress in identifying the remains, some of which have been left unattended for more than 10 years.
In addition, both Hallfords have admitted in federal court to defrauding the US Small Business Administration of nearly $900,000 (£684,800) in pandemic relief funds and accepting payments from clients for cremations that were never carried out.
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Authorities said the couple spent lavishly, purchasing a GMC Yukon, luxury treatments, holidays, jewellery, and cryptocurrency.
After pleading guilty in federal court, Jon Hallford received a 20-year prison sentence, while Carie Hallford’s federal sentencing is scheduled for December.
