PENROSE, Colo. — Many of the 189 bodies that were found "improperly stored" at Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose were reported as buried or cremated to the state and loved ones were provided with items that were purported to be remains, according to a federal complaint in the case.
Carie and Jon Hallford own Return to Nature. Both were arrested Wednesday in Oklahoma and face numerous state charges, including theft, forgery, abuse of a corpse and money laundering.
The federal complaint is related to a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. According to the complaint, on Oct. 4, a Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) inspector contacted Jon Hallford about gaining access to their Penrose property.
That was a day after the Fremont County Sheriff's Office was notified about a "horrific odor" coming from the property at 31 Werner Road. According to the complaint, Jon Hallford agreed to meet the inspector at 2 p.m. Oct. 4 but failed to show up.
The document indicates that he told the inspector he had been using the building to learn taxidermy and "knew" he had a problem there.
A search warrant was granted and executed at the building, and inside investigators recovered 189 bodies, some of them with dates of death dating back to 2019.
As of Wednesday, 110 of the bodies have been positively identified. According to the complaint, those who have been identified were reported to the state of Colorado as having been buried or cremated. The document goes on to say that Return to Nature had given the families of loved ones "their supposed cremains."
After Jon Hallford failed to show up at the property, investigators obtained search warrants for both his and his wife's phones. After reviewing records, investigators concluded it was likely that Jon Hallford turned off his phone Oct. 4 to "avoid detection from law enforcement." It continued to receive messages, despite being off, and investigators were able to determine both phones were in Oklahoma by mid-October, the complaint says.
On Oct. 5, a search warrant was executed at the Return to Nature location at 944 Elkton Drive in Colorado Springs. It is the "customer-facing" location of the business, and investigators found business and accounting records there.
Around Oct. 31, the landlord sent an email to the Hallfords that indicated they were being evicted, the complaint says. In response, the landlord was told they were not contesting the eviction and wouldn't be back to get their belongings.
When a search warrant was executed at the Hallford residence on Oct. 17, numerous items, including their toothbrushes, were missing, the complaint says.
Cellphone location data for Carie Hallford's phone put it near Wagoner, Oklahoma, from mid-October up until the day before her arrest. Using that information, investigators focused on a specific address and conducted surveillance. They found a car registered to Jon Hallford in the driveway, the complaint says.
Both were arrested Wednesday morning in Oklahoma and are awaiting extradition to Colorado.
Remains have been released back to about 25 families.
Anyone who has not yet been contacted but worked with the Return to Nature Funeral Home between September 2019 and 2023 is encouraged to fill out an online form. That information from the form will be used to assist with the investigation and to potentially identify remains.
Family members who believe their loved one was at the Return to Nature Funeral Home's property but have not been contacted can submit dental records from their loved one directly to the coroner by sending him an email.
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