Former Colorado Funeral Home Owner Sentenced to 30 Years in Case That Forced Industry Crackdown

Fremont County coroner Randy Keller, center, and other authorities survey the area where they plan to put up tents at the Return to Nature Funeral Home where over 100 bodies have been improperly stored in Penrose, Colo., Oct. 7, 2023. Parker Seibold/The Gazette via AP, File

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A former Colorado funeral home owner who helped her ex-husband hide nearly 200 decomposing bodies was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday in a case that forced the state to clamp down on an industry plagued by repeated scandal and notoriously lax oversight.

Carie Hallford faced between 25 and 35 years in prison under a plea agreement. Some family members of those whose bodies were left to rot had urged Judge Eric Bentley to impose the maximum sentence. But the judge said Carie Hallford made credible claims of being a victim of domestic violence and her ex-husband, Jon Hallford, was the driving force in their relationship.