The sentencing for Jon Hallford, the co-owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home—where the bodies of nearly 200 people were discovered in various stages of decomposition in October 2023—has been delayed after a judge rejected the proposed plea agreement.
“I decided that I cannot accept the plea agreement in this case,” said El Paso County Judge Eric Bentley in court on Friday afternoon.
The agreement proposed a 20-year prison sentence to run concurrently with Hallford’s existing 20-year federal sentence.
The judge announced his decision after dozens of people delivered victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing, many urging him to reject the deal, which they felt failed to deliver justice for the crimes committed.
“I was stunned by the articulate and heartbreaking nature of what I heard this morning. It’s hard to find words to describe the conduct of the defendant, who violated every norm of a civilized society and victimized grieving people at their moment of greatest vulnerability,” said Bentley. “I also heard a lot of rage. Most of that rage was directed at the defendant.”
Bentley also noted that many victims felt unheard and that the justice negotiated between attorneys did not reflect the truth of the victims’ experiences. He added that he believes “no sentence would ever be enough” and that there would always be a disconnect between what victims perceive as fair and what the justice system delivers.
Jon Hallford co-owned the funeral home with his wife, Carie Hallford. Both have pleaded guilty to state charges in the case, including abuse of a corpse, forgery, and money laundering.
“Rejecting a plea agreement is an extreme action by the court. It is reserved for the most extreme cases. And if I do reject a plea agreement, as I think I mentioned earlier, the defendant has the choice to withdraw his plea, in which case the case will be reset for trial,” Bentley added.
Shiela and Gary Canfield Jones, whose daughter died in 2019, shared the pain of losing her—only to later learn of the mishandling of her remains.
“We decided to use a funeral home that we thought would plant a tree for her. We thought they were going to be compassionate and caring as we grieved. Unfortunately, a con man and his wife tricked us into thinking everything was going to be okay and that they cared,” the couple said in court. “It didn’t happen. I worked hard—as soon as I heard that my daughter had been one of the first, left in a room for four years decaying—I immediately called my friends in the legislature and asked, ‘What’s the deal? How did this happen?'”
The investigation into the funeral home began in early October 2023, after neighbors reported a foul odor to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators eventually discovered at least 190 improperly stored bodies inside the building, which was demolished later that year.
The couple was arrested in Oklahoma in November 2023 after prosecutors alleged they were attempting to flee arrest.
Jon and Carie Hallford also face charges in a federal indictment for allegedly misusing nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. They each pleaded guilty to defrauding customers in October 2024, though Carie Hallford changed her plea earlier this year—then changed it again.
Jon Hallford was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2025 after pleading guilty to federal charges. Some families expressed frustration—even before Friday’s victim impact statements—that his federal sentence would be served concurrently with his expected state sentence in El Paso County.
Earlier this month, Carie Hallford agreed to plead guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In exchange, she faces a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Jon Hallford’s next court date has been scheduled for Sept. 12.
Source: CBS News
