Family devastated after Return to Nature owners offered plea deal | News

The owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home have been offered a plea deal in their state-level case, according to an email sent to affected family members and obtained by The Gazette.

Jon and Carie Hallford face 286 criminal charges stemming from the discovery last October of 189 improperly stored bodies at Penrose Funeral Home.

According to the email sent to family members, a plea deal has been offered to Jon and Carie Hallford. The offer, according to the email, would see both Hallfords plead guilty to 190 counts of abuse of a corpse. If accepted, Jon Hallford would serve a mandatory 20-year sentence in the Colorado Department of Corrections while Carie Hallford would serve between 15 and 20 years in the Department of Corrections.

Crystina Page, a victim whose son David was found among the bodies at Penrose Funeral Home, expressed deep displeasure with the plea deal offered by the Colorado Springs-based 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

“I haven’t slept yet. Most of us heard the news on our Zoom call last night. We’re angry. I don’t know how we’re going to get through this,” Page said in an interview with The Gazette. “I know I have representation, my son has representation. I know one of these charges will represent him. If they decide to take the plea deals, we have over 1,000 families that won’t have representation.”

“To be honest with you, I don’t care if he’s in jail or not. It doesn’t help me where he is geographically. What affects me is that these families don’t have answers. Heather (DeWolf) needs to know what happened to her son.”

According to a previous Gazette report, hundreds of families not listed as victims in this case remain without answers about what happened to their loved ones after working with Return to Nature Funeral Home.

Heather DeWolf, who used Return to Nature to cremate her son Zach, is among hundreds of people who aren’t sure if they actually have the right remains. DeWolf also wasn’t happy with the prosecutor’s plea offer.

“It was a shock to see that, and I think it is for most people. It just happened,” DeWolf said. “It was a blow. … Every time something like that happens, it starts all over again. It’s ridiculous. At this point, I don’t feel like we have anyone on our side. I feel like our voice is slowly being taken away from us.”

The email sent to the families indicates that the proposed plea agreement could be accepted at the Hallfords’ next arraignment hearing on July 11. At the Hallfords’ previous hearing in June, where an El Paso County judge ruled they could not be tried together, both sets of attorneys for Jon and Carie Hallford informed the court that their clients intended to plead not guilty at the next arraignment hearing and set a trial date.

The offer will expire on October 4, according to the email.

The maximum sentence the Hallfords would face if their case goes to trial remains uncertain, in part because of the total number of charges they face.

The primary charge against the Hallfords in their state case is money laundering, a Class 3 felony that carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison in the Department of Corrections. Jon and Carie Hallford are each charged with four counts of money laundering.

The Hallfords are also charged with 86 counts of Class 5 counterfeiting, which carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Abuse of a corpse, a Class 6 felony, carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in the Department of Corrections. Abuse of a corpse makes up the bulk of the charges against the Hallfords, with each facing 190 counts.

If the Hallfords are convicted at trial, it is unclear how much of the sentence would run consecutively or concurrently.

Michael Stuzynski, an attorney representing Carie Hallford, said he was unable to comment on possible plea negotiations in a brief telephone conversation with The Gazette.

“The court order prohibits us from commenting on this case and the rules of professional conduct,” Stuzynski said.

Kate Singh, a spokeswoman for the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, also declined to comment on the Hallfords’ plea deal.

“Because the Hallfords’ files are open, ethics rules prevent our office from commenting,” Singh said in a written statement.

The funeral home, located about 35 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, was the subject of a multi-agency investigation in October after reports of a foul odor in the area. Investigators said they found more than 180 bodies in various states of decomposition that had not been properly stored. The Hallfords were arrested in Oklahoma in November 2023.

In addition to their state trial, the Hallfords face federal charges in connection with the Return to Nature business. In April, the Hallfords appeared in federal court in Denver and pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of wire fraud.

Tim Neff, the attorney prosecuting the Hallfords federally, said the Hallfords face about seven years in prison if convicted on all 15 counts of wire fraud. The Hallfords’ attorneys said they believe the sentence for the federal charges, if convicted, would not be as harsh as the state charges they face.

At the Hallfords’ previous state hearing, prosecutor Rachael Powell told the court that the trial in the Hallfords’ federal case was scheduled for Oct. 22.

Due to the federal charges, Jon Hallford is being held without bail pending the outcome of his federal case, although he was released on $100,000 bail in his state case.

As of this writing, Carie Hallford remains free on $100,000 bail.