Jon Hallford, co-owner of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, will spend the next four decades behind bars after a judge handed down a 40-year state prison sentence Friday for the mishandling of nearly 200 bodies.

The case that shocked the nation began in October 2023 when authorities discovered 190 deceased individuals stacked in a decrepit building, many in advanced stages of decomposition. Families who trusted the Hallfords with their loved ones instead received fake ashes and crushing lies.

The Gruesome Discovery That Rocked Colorado

On October 3, 2023, a foul odor led neighbors to call the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. What investigators found inside the Return to Nature facility was beyond comprehension.

Bodies were piled on top of each other, some wrapped only in plastic. Maggots crawled through the rooms. The building had no working refrigeration. Some remains dated back to 2019.

One family later learned their mother had been left on the floor for four years while they scattered concrete mix they believed were her ashes.

The funeral home had marketed itself as an eco-friendly “green” option with affordable natural burials and cremations. Instead, the Hallfords allegedly pocketed payments while letting bodies rot.

Hundreds of Charges and Emotional Victim Statements

Jon and Carie Hallford faced nearly 200 counts of abuse of a corpse each, plus theft and forgery charges. Prosecutors say the couple collected more than $130,000 from families for services they never provided.

In December 2025, both took plea deals on state charges. Financial crimes were dropped in exchange for guilty pleas to corpse abuse counts.

Friday’s sentencing hearing lasted hours. Dozens of victims and family members filled the El Paso County courtroom.

Many cried as they described scattering fake ashes at meaningful locations, only to learn years later the truth.

One woman told the judge she spread what she thought were her father’s remains at Garden of the Gods. Another said she kept her baby’s supposed ashes on her nightstand for years.

Jon Hallford Speaks: “There Are No Words”

Before learning his fate, Jon Hallford addressed the court.

“There are no words to express the amount of regret I feel for the wrong I have done,” he said, voice cracking. “I am deeply sorry to every family I hurt.”

Judge Eric Bentley was unmoved. He called the conduct “heinous” and “despicable,” noting the Hallfords turned what should have been a sacred duty into profit.

The 40-year state sentence will run concurrently with Hallford’s 20-year federal prison term handed down last summer for mail fraud related to sending fake ashes through the U.S. mail.

Because the sentences run at the same time, Hallford will effectively serve 40 years. He received credit for time already served.

Carie Hallford Awaits Her Day in Court

Carie Hallford, Jon’s wife and co-owner, watched Friday’s proceedings remotely from jail. Her sentencing is scheduled for April 2026.

Under her plea agreement, she faces 25 to 35 years in state prison. Like her husband, her sentence will run concurrently with a federal term.

Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the maximum against her as well.

A Community Forever Changed

More than 200 families have come forward claiming they were victimized. Many still do not know where their loved ones’ actual remains are.

Colorado lawmakers passed sweeping funeral home reforms in 2024, including mandatory inspections and stricter licensing requirements.

But for the families who stood in court Friday holding photos of their loved ones, no new law can undo the pain.

One mother clutched a picture of her young son throughout the hearing. She told reporters afterward: “I just wanted someone to say they were sorry and mean it. Today, finally, someone paid.”

Jon Hallford is now inmate number 195632 at the Colorado Department of Corrections. His earliest possible release date is February 2066.

He will be 86 years old.