DENVER — A couple accused of improperly storing nearly 200 bodies in their southern Colorado funeral home have reached a plea deal in a federal wire fraud case.
Federal court records show Jon and Carie Hallford, who owned the Return to Nature funeral home in Penrose, notified the court Thursday that a disposition had been reached in the case. They show that both have requested a change of plea hearing.
>The video above is previous reporting on the case.
The document does not reveal the terms of the plea agreement, but families said federal prosecutors were considering a proposal of 15 years in federal prison for each of them for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Federal prosecutors allege the couple committed multiple acts of wire fraud while also keeping money given to them for cremation services, our partners at KRDO report. The Hallfords are accused of victimizing 190 bodies that were left to decompose in their funeral home.
The Hallfords are each charged with 190 counts of abuse of a corpse, five counts of theft, four counts of money laundering and more than 50 counts of forgery at the state level.
State prosecutors have offered a plea deal in that case that would give Jon Hallford 20 years in the Department of Corrections. Carie Hallford would be sentenced to 15-20 years in prison if she were to accept the deal.