Colorado funeral home owner sentenced to 40 years for abusing 189 bodies

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 4 min read 100% complete by Associated PressFebruary 7, 2026 at 03:51 AM

AI Summary

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Jon Hallford, owner of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado, was sentenced to 40 years in state prison for abusing 189 bodies between 2019 and 2023. Hallford and his wife, Carie, stored decomposing bodies instead of cremating them, and provided families with fake ashes. The couple pleaded guilty to nearly 200 counts of corpse abuse and federal fraud charges for defrauding the government of nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds, which they used for luxury items. Hallford apologized for his actions, while family members of the deceased expressed their grief and outrage during the sentencing hearing. Carie Hallford is awaiting sentencing in both the state and federal cases.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Kelly Mackeen 30% Shelby Crow ×240% Eric Bentley ×250% Return to Nature Funeral Home 70% Carie Hallford ×370% Colorado 80% Jon Hallford ×790%

Keywords

corpse abuse 90% funeral home 90% jon hallford 90% sentencing 80% fraud 70% decomposing bodies 70% carie hallford 70% financial crimes 60% fake ashes 60% state prison 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.90

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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corpse abuse funeral home jon hallford sentencing fraud decomposing bodies carie hallford financial crimes fake ashes state prison

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