DENVER (CN) — Due to a lack of available beds at local halfway homes, a federal magistrate judge declined on Tuesday to release from custody a Colorado funeral home owner who faces federal fraud charges related to the improper storage of 189 bodies.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office investigated a foul odor last October and discovered the decomposing bodies warehoused by Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, a town of 3,000 people approximately two hours south of Denver. The business also operated in Colorado Springs.
The owners, Jon and Carie Hallford, were first arrested in November 2023 on state charges for the abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering and forgery. They are scheduled for an arraignment in June.
Since being released on bond in February, the Hallfords have been living in a Colorado Springs hotel, delivering for DoorDash and complying with state court orders.
Since being taken into federal custody earlier this month, Carie and Jon each pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. At the April 18 arraignment, U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak denied Jon’s request for bond, but agreed to release Carie to a halfway home, rather than the hotel.
According to court documents filed Monday, Embrave Residential Facility in Colorado Springs declined to take in Carie Hallford, citing a conflict of interest. Independence House Residential Facilities in Denver told court staff they wouldn't have space for another woman until late September or early October.
“I don’t believe the defendant needs to be detained for the next six months until a bed becomes available,” Judge Varholak said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff, who opposed Carie Hallford’s release, asked whether the issue impacted the entire district of Colorado. Varholak confirmed an apparent shortage of space in halfway houses for female defendants.
“I’m incredulous to find that halfway home placement is not an option in Colorado,” Neff said. The federal prosecutor also raised concerns about Carie Hallford’s employment as a DoorDash driver.
“My concern is that she’s making random deliveries, and that may bring her into contact with victims of Return to Nature, and she’s under a restraining order from state court that she wouldn’t want to violate,” Neff said, adding that she has not encountered any known conflicts so far.
If pretrial services signs off on Carie Hallford’s residence for home detention with a monitor, Varholak said he hopes to release her on Thursday.
From September 2019 through October 2023, the couple defrauded hundreds of people who sought funeral services, according to the 15-page grand jury indictment filed in the U.S. Court for the District of Colorado on April 10.
Charging between $900 and $1,400 for cremations and even more for burials, investigators say the Hallfords collected $130,000 over four years. Instead of burying or cremating bodies as contracted, they say 190 deceased individuals were left to rot in a warehouse.
On an application for Covid-19 relief funds, authorities say the Hallfords falsely represented their business wasn’t in violation of any law.
Then with $882,300 obtained from the Small Business Administration, the couple purchased, “a vehicle, multiple vacations, entertainment, dining, tuition for a minor child, cryptocurrency, cosmetic medical procedures, jewelry, various goods and merchandise from Amazon, and payments to other vendors unrelated to their business," a grand jury indictment states.
Carie Hallford is being represented by Arvada-based attorney Robert Melihercik.
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