COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO — Carie Hallford was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Colorado Springs state court on Friday for her role in a corpse abuse and fraud scheme at the Return to Nature funeral home. District Judge Eric Bentley imposed the sentence under a plea agreement that called for 25 to 35 years.

Hallford, 48, was also sentenced earlier this month to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal fraud charge connected to the same scheme. She and her husband, Jon Hallford, operated the funeral home in the Colorado Springs area.

The couple hid nearly 200 decomposing bodies inside the funeral home and collected over $130,000 for funeral services, often returning urns filled with concrete mix instead of ashes. Prosecutors said Carie Hallford dealt with customers and managed much of the funeral home's financial affairs, while Jon Hallford handled disposing of the remains at a location south of Colorado Springs in Penrose.

In 2023, neighbors in Penrose complained of a foul odor coming from the building where the bodies were hidden. Authorities found bodies piled throughout the bug-infested structure in various states of decomposition.

Jon Hallford pleaded guilty to his role in the operation and was sentenced to 40 years in prison in February. The Hallfords also pleaded guilty to defrauding the Small Business Administration by applying for COVID relief funds with false information, receiving $882,300 in loans that prosecutors alleged were spent on luxury goods and travel.

U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly said, "Jon Hallford's criminal fraud was a vehicle to exploit grieving families so he could give himself a lavish life with luxury cars and expensive vacations."

Carie Hallford expressed remorse and asked for leniency in courtroom appearances, stating that she was afraid of Jon Hallford and in an abusive marriage. Her lawyer said Jon Hallford threatened at times to kill himself and her. A lawyer for Jon Hallford declined to comment on the abuse allegations. Carie Hallford filed for divorce in 2025.

In 2024, she said, "I did know of the conditions. I knew enough that I knew how bad it was and chose to do nothing about it or prevent it and just allowed it to continue."

A group of victims' family members protested against the plea agreement, called for the case to go to trial, and sought a 191-year sentence. Colorado later passed laws mandating routine inspections of funeral homes, which led to the discovery of 24 decomposing bodies at another business. In March 2026, over a dozen families gathered for a memorial in Denver to project the faces of their loved ones on the city's clock tower.