Current:Home > ContactColorado funeral home owners arrested following the discovery of 189 decaying bodies -Secure Horizon Growth
Colorado funeral home owners arrested following the discovery of 189 decaying bodies
View
Date:2025-04-13 03:24:53
The owners of a Colorado funeral home were arrested Wednesday after nearly 200 decaying corpses were found improperly stored at their facility.
Jon and Carie Hallford, the owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home, were arrested on charges of abusing a corpse, theft, money laundering and forgery, according to a statement from the district attorney for Colorado's 4th judicial district. The pair were taken into custody in Wagoner, Okla.
Police first searched the funeral home, located roughly 30 miles south of Colorado Springs in the town of Penrose, on Oct. 3, after receiving a report of an "abhorrent smell" coming from the building.
What they found inside was "horrific," according to Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper, who declined to go into further detail during an Oct. 6 press conference on the investigation.
According to its website, Return to Nature offers green and natural burial services, which allow bodies to decompose underground without the use of metal caskets or chemicals.
The practice is legal in the state of Colorado, but the law requires bodies that are not embalmed to be refrigerated within 24 hours of death.
Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller declined to say whether the remains discovered at Return to Nature were intended for natural burial, but he did note that they were "improperly stored."
Investigators originally estimated the 2,500-square-foot building contained about 115 bodies.
But after transporting all remains to the El Paso County Coroner's Office, they've raised that number to 189 individuals, according to a Tuesday update from the Fremont County Sheriff's office. The total number could rise as the identification process continues, the coroner said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
veryGood! (7816)
Related
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- Russia blasts Saudi Arabia talks on ending war in Ukraine after Moscow gets no invitation to attend
- Hank the Tank, Lake Tahoe bear linked to at least 21 home invasions, has been captured
- Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian Proves Her Maternity Style Is the Most Interesting to Look At
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Tens of thousands of young scouts to leave South Korean world jamboree as storm Khanun looms
- India’s Modi faces a no-confidence vote over silence on ethnic violence tearing at remote Manipur
- White mom sues Southwest Airlines over blatant racism after alleged human trafficking flag
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Southwest employee accused white mom of trafficking her Black daughter, lawsuit says
Ranking
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Democrats see Michigan and Minnesota as guides for what to do with majority power
- 2 Florida officers hospitalized after shooting; suspect killed by police
- Missing Oregon woman found dead after hiking in the heat in Phoenix
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Why Roger Goodell's hug of Deshaun Watson was an embarrassment for the NFL
- White mom sues Southwest Airlines over blatant racism after alleged human trafficking flag
- 2 Florida officers hospitalized after shooting; suspect killed by police
Recommendation
See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
2 killed, 3 hurt when pleasure boat catches fire in bay south of Los Angeles
Rare Deal Alert: Save 53% On the Iconic Le Creuset Cast Iron Pan
Bella Hadid shares vulnerable hospitalization pictures amid Lyme disease treatment
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Simone Biles is trying to enjoy the moment after a two-year break. The Olympic talk can come later
Tory Lanez to be sentenced for shooting Megan Thee Stallion
Death toll from train derailment in Pakistan rises to 30 with 90 others injured, officials say