Colorado Funeral Home Owner Sentenced to Forty Years for Storing Two Hundred Bodies
Jon Hallford, co-owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, south of Colorado Springs, committed the crimes between 2019 and 2023. Investigators discovered bodies stacked inside the building, some piled atop one another, with decomposition fluids and swarms of insects covering the floors. The remains included adults, infants, and fetuses, all kept at room temperature.
Judge Eric Bentley condemned Hallford for causing “unspeakable and incomprehensible” harm, saying the case challenged the notion that people are “basically good at the core.”
Family members told the court that the revelation of the mishandling caused recurring nightmares. Many pushed for the maximum sentence of 50 years, describing Hallford as a “monster.” Kelly Mackeen, whose mother’s remains were among those affected, said, “I’m a daughter whose mother was treated like yesterday’s trash.”
Hallford apologized during the hearing, acknowledging that his actions would “echo for a generation” and admitting he failed to intervene despite multiple opportunities to prevent the abuse.
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