Jon and Carie Hallford, owners of a now-demolished Colorado funeral home, have pleaded guilty to the abuse of 190 corpses in a horrifying case that’s shaken the U.S.

Operating under the name Return to Nature, the couple promised eco-friendly, sustainable burials—but what they delivered was deception and disgrace. Investigators uncovered 190 improperly stored bodies at the facility, some dating back to 2019. Police were first alerted in October 2023 after neighbors reported a foul odor.

Inside, bodies were found rotting, wrapped in sheets, duct tape, or dumped in bags on the floor. Some families received fake ashes—concrete instead of cremated remains—while others were sent the wrong bodies entirely.

The Hallfords were arrested in November 2023 and charged with 191 counts of felony abuse of a corpse. They admitted to spending over $130,000 in client payments on personal luxuries like travel and jewelry instead of funeral services.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 18, 2025, with the couple facing up to 20 years in prison.

The scandal has sparked renewed calls for tighter regulation of the funeral industry, especially in the emerging field of hu