Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen spoke after the hearing, and a full recording of the press conference can be viewed in the video player above.

UPDATE: FRIDAY 22.11.2024 at 11:31

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Jon and Carie Hallford, owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, appeared in El Paso County Court on Friday, November 22 at 10:30 a.m. for a plea hearing on their state charges, which include more than 200 criminal charges of physical abuse, money laundering, theft and forgery.

On Friday, both Jon and Carrie Hallford pleaded guilty to 191 counts of abuse of a corpse.

“This has been a huge emotional struggle for all the families that are present,” Fourth Judicial District Attorney (DA) Michael Allen said during a news conference Friday. “The impact on these family members has been huge.”

During the hearing, Jon Hallford said he had knowingly mistreated the bodies found at the funeral home. Carie Hallford took the stand and said Jon wanted to protect her from the conditions inside the funeral home and said she hadn’t been inside in over a year. She admitted, however, that she knew about the conditions, did nothing to prevent it and allowed what was happening inside to continue.

Both Hallfords now face up to 20 years behind bars concurrently with their federal sentences, according to the plea agreement. On Friday, DA Allen also spoke about the importance of getting guilty pleas from both defendants.

“These are Class 6 felonies, and none of these special charges themselves warrant any kind of jail time,” he explained. “These are all the lowest-level felony charges that we have in Colorado, all of which are typically subject to the potential for probation, so the fact that we were able to get a guaranteed prison sentence out of these plea deals is really important.”

The judge estimated that federal sentencing will take place sometime in March 2025 and that state sentencing will take place on April 18 at 9 a.m. in El Paso County court. The judge also said he will not take victim statements until he has all the information during the state sentencing.

“The judge made the distinction that he accepts the guilty pleas, but not necessarily the plea agreement,” Allen added. “He will reserve judgment until we get to April 18th in 2025.”

The Hallfords will both remain in custody pending sentencing.

ORIGINAL STORY: Owners of Return to Nature funeral home to appear in El Paso County court for plea hearing

THURSDAY 21.11.2024 at 16:26

Jon and Carie Hallford, owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, will both appear in El Paso County court on Friday, Nov. 22, for a plea hearing on their state charges.

The hearing, originally scheduled for Nov. 8, was rescheduled for Nov. 22 at 10:30 a.m. due to a snowstorm in Colorado Springs and across the state.

According to the Associated Press (AP), in late October, the Hallford family pleaded guilty federal fraud charges for defrauding customers and the federal government. Both also face more than 200 criminal charges in Colorado state court, including abuse of corpses, money laundering, theft and forgery.

October 4, 2024, marked a year since law enforcement discovered the nearly 200 improperly stored bodies after the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) initially responded to 31 Werner Road in Penrose on reports of a “suspicious incident.” About a month later, after the initial investigation, on November 8, 2023the Hallfords were arrested in Waggoner, Oklahoma.

FOX21 News will be in the courtroom Friday and will update this article as we learn more.

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