• Jon Hallford sentenced to 40 years for storing 189 decomposing bodies.
• Families described having nightmares and called Hallford a “monster.”
• Hallford and his ex-wife gave grieving families fake ashes and lived lavishly.
• The case prompted Colorado to tighten funeral home regulations.
• Hallford also faces federal charges for fraudulent pandemic aid claims.

Jon Hallford, co-owner of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for abusing nearly 200 corpses, during which he stored decomposing bodies improperly and provided grieving families with fake ashes. His crimes occurred from 2019 to 2023, culminating in the discovery of 191 bodies stacked inside the funeral home in Penrose, Colorado, after officials responded to complaints regarding a foul odor from the building, according to BBC, South China Morning Post, and Anadolu Agency.

During the sentencing, family members spoke in court about their trauma and recurring nightmares related to the mishandling of their loved ones' remains, labeling Hallford a “monster” and a “vile” individual deserving of the maximum sentence of 50 years. One victim's daughter, Kelly Mackeen, expressed her heartbreak in court, stating, “I’m a daughter whose mother was treated like yesterday’s trash,” according to BBC and South China Morning Post.

Hallford and his ex-wife, Carie Hallford, who co-owned the business, both pleaded guilty to nearly 200 counts of corpse abuse. Evidence revealed they were driven by greed, spending over $120,000 on luxury items while charging families more than $1,200 for their services, which included providing fake ashes. Prosecutors highlighted that the money wasted on luxurious living could have funded proper cremation for all the bodies, according to South China Morning Post, Anadolu Agency, and BBC.

The case has prompted significant changes in Colorado's funeral home regulations, with tighter oversight and routine inspections now being implemented to prevent future occurrences of such criminal behavior. The Hallfords are also facing federal charges for fraud related to nearly $900,000 in pandemic aid, with Jon Hallford receiving an additional 20-year federal sentence for that fraud, as reported by South China Morning Post and Anadolu Agency.