NEW DELHI: A Colorado couple, Jon and Carie Hallford, who ran the Return to Nature funeral home, misused funds collected from families for their eco-friendly funeral services and spent it on luxury cars, cryptocurrency, and designer jewelry, reports the New York Post.
The bodies were found rotting in their facility while they were enjoying their extravagant lifestyle, as reported by recently released court documents.
The Hallfords presented their funeral home as a “return to the traditional way of burial.” They offered biodegradable burial and cremation at a cost of up to $1,895. However, instead of carrying out funerals they used the funds to purchase items such as a $92,566 GMC Yukon XL and a $28,336 Infiniti SUV.
Over the span of four years, from 2019 to 2023, the couple indulged in lavish trips to Las Vegas and California, as well as shopping sprees at high-end stores like Tiffany & Co. and Gucci. They also invested in cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, the bodies of 189 individuals were left to deteriorate. The court documents revealed that the bodies were stored without refrigeration, in rooms infested with bugs and liquid decomposition. Shockingly, some were even stacked on top of each other or stored together in body bags secured with duct tape.
In addition to these disturbing revelations, the investigation uncovered instances where the Hallfords provided families with bags of mixed concrete instead of their loved ones’ ashes. The appalling conditions at the Hallfords’ facility were further highlighted when authorities executed a search warrant and found the floors covered in slippery liquid from human decomposition.
Furthermore, the investigation discovered that the Hallfords had made grave errors even when they did carry out burials. In one instance, they mistakenly buried a female body in a grave intended for a male Army veteran at Pikes Peak National Cemetery. The remains of the veteran were found at a coroner’s office.
The Hallfords’ actions have raised serious concerns about the treatment of deceased individuals and the misappropriation of funds meant for their final rites.
