PENROSE — One year ago, the Fremont County Sheriff's Office was called to the property along Highway 155 where the Return to Nature Funeral Home used to sit.
On October 3, 2023, deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff's Office began investigating the funeral home after a report of an "abhorrent smell” was coming from the property. On Friday, October 6, 2023, the Fremont County Sheriff said they found 115 improperly bodies stored inside the Return to Nature Funeral Home.
Through their investigation, law enforcement later uncovered that the number was closer to 190. Nearly 200 decomposing bodies were inside the facility. The EPA and the FBI got involved, victims were identified and families were notified.
“Frustration, anger, pain,” said Mary Simons, who's husband Darrell was one of the victims of the Return to Nature Funeral Home.
Then in April, the funeral home was demolished. Throughout 2024, court hearings have been held for the couple, Jon and Carie Hallford, who authorities say are responsible. The families of these victims were left stunned with an unclear path forward.
“Everything has been so weird, so hard and so challenging,” said Simons.
“It's been a roller coaster of emotions, up and down, still grieving, going through all of it without my husband, but also making sure that everybody knows that we're here, where the victims are here, the victims are in pain and fighting. So, this does not happen to anybody else again,” said Simons.
She said these past 12 months have been a year of firsts.
“First birthdays without him, first anniversary without him, first holiday season without him,” said Simons.
For her, this situation has made her feel like she is losing her husband all over again.
“The missing is still there. The extra trauma with what happened, it's still there,” said Simons.
She said time does not heal all wounds.
“The victims are still here. We're still victims... we're all still grieving the loss of our loved ones,” said Simons.
Rather, it guides her through the grieving process.
“Trying to make sure my voice is still being heard, while being so incredibly sad,” said Simons.
Over this past year, Simons has been working on healing and trying to move forward from what she calls a traumatizing experience.
"I don't want Darryl to ever be forgotten. He was a good man. There's 189 other bodies here alone that were good people that deserve to be remembered... for the love that their families had for them,” said Simons.
What is your hope a year from now?
“A year from now, I hope that DORA has gone through and made their regulations and made them so tight that this won't happen. I'm hoping that the court cases will be all settled and done with, and they will be sitting in prison, and I don't even have to think about them, you know, until they get out, you know, I am just really hoping that... within one year, nobody in the state's gonna have to worry about this happening to them," said Simons.
A memorial bench sits in Bear Creek Regional Park in Colorado Springs to honor the victims and their families. Simons hopes one day the property in Penrose where the old funeral building once was will be turned into a memorial.
WATCH: A memorial bench for Return to Nature Funeral Home victims
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