US funeral home owner who stashed 191 bodies sentenced to 20 years

Investigators described uncovering decaying bodies stacked atop each different passim a dilapidated, bug-infested building.

A justice successful the US authorities of Colorado has handed a ceremonial location owner, who stashed 191 dormant bodies connected his premises, a 20-year situation condemnation for cheating customers and defrauding the national government.

Federal prosecutors had sought a 15-year condemnation for Jon Hallford, the proprietor of Return to Nature Funeral Home successful Colorado, wherever helium and his wife, Carie Hallford, stored bodies betwixt 2019 and 2023 and sent families fake ashes.

At Friday’s hearing, US District Judge Nina Wang said the circumstances and standard of John Hallford’s crimes, arsenic good arsenic the affectional harm to families helium inflicted, warranted a longer sentence.

“This is not an mean fraud case,” Judge Wang said.

Investigators were called to the dilapidated, insect-infested gathering successful the tiny municipality of Penrose, astir 160 kilometres (100 miles) southbound of Denver, successful 2023 aft reports of an “abhorrent smell” coming from the property.

At trial, investigators described uncovering the bodies stacked connected apical of each different and being incapable to determination into immoderate rooms due to the fact that they were piled truthful precocious with quality remains.

FBI agents besides had to enactment boards down truthful they could locomotion astir the transgression country and supra the bodily fluid that had pooled connected the ground.

The morbid find by investigators successful 2023 revealed for the archetypal clip to galore families that the ashes they had received from Return to Nature were fake. Court documents showed Hallford had sent families urns filled with adust factual mix, and successful 2 cases, the incorrect assemblage had been buried.

In abstracted charges, Jon Hallford has pleaded blameworthy to 191 counts of corpse maltreatment successful authorities court. He is scheduled to beryllium sentenced for those charges successful August.

Carie Hallford is scheduled to spell to proceedings successful the national lawsuit successful September. That aforesaid month, she volition be her adjacent proceeding successful the authorities case, successful which she’s besides charged with 191 counts of corpse abuse.

A hearse and van beryllium extracurricular the Return to Nature Funeral Home successful Penrose, Colorado, connected October 6, 2023 [David Zalubowski/AP Photo]

COVID-19 fraud

At Friday’s hearing, Jon Hallford was besides jailed for defrauding the US national authorities retired of astir $900,000 successful exigency fiscal assistance provided to Americans dealing with the economical interaction of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a quality statement, the US Attorney’s Office successful the District of Colorado said the Hallfords had “defrauded the Small Business Administration done fraudulent COVID-19 indebtedness applications”.

Federal prosecutors said the Hallfords syphoned the wealth and spent it, on with customers’ payments, connected SUVs worthy much than $120,000, on with $31,000 successful cryptocurrency, and luxury items from stores similar Gucci and Tiffany & Co.

In summation to his jailhouse sentence, Jon Hallford was besides “ordered to wage $1,070,413.74 successful restitution for a conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud”, according to the District of Colorado.

The District of Colorado connection said the Hallfords had “collected much than $130,000 from grieving families for ceremonial services that were ne'er provided”.

“Instead of ensuring due disposition of the remains, Hallford allowed bodies to accumulate successful assorted states of decay and decomposition wrong the ceremonial home’s facility,” it said.

According to an bid suspending the home’s registration arsenic a ceremonial establishment, Jon Hallford had claimed erstwhile the bodies were discovered “that helium practises taxidermy” astatine the property.

In tribunal earlier the sentencing, Jon Hallford told the justice that helium opened Return to Nature to marque a affirmative interaction connected people’s lives, but “then everything got wholly retired of control”.

“I americium truthful profoundly atrocious for my actions,” helium said. “I inactive hatred myself for what I’ve done.”

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies