COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In a court hearing Friday, a judge agreed to unseal an affidavit for one of the Penrose funeral home owners where 190 bodies were found improperly stored. Carie Hallford's arrest papers will be unsealed with specific redactions.
A judge ordered that it can not include the following:
- names images
- dates of death to protect alleged victims and their families
News 5 has requested a copy of the redacted documents, and we will update this web story as more information becomes available.
Arrest papers for Jon Hallford are remaining sealed for now.
CARIE HALLFORD PRELIMINARY HEARING:
Investigators shared graphic testimony during a court hearing on Thursday for one of the owners of the Return to Nature funeral home in Penrose.
Jon and Carie Hallford are accused of improperly storing 190 bodies inside the funeral home. Carie was in court for her preliminary hearing on Thursday.
Prosecutors called FBI Agent Andrew Cohen, one of the case managers assigned to the funeral home, to testify. The prosecuting attorney began showing pictures of each room inside the funeral home. Agent Cohen described how the floor of the first room was originally a creme-white color, but it was brown in the pictures because it was covered in human decomposition liquids. He said investigators had to place cardboard on the floors to avoid slipping while inside the funeral home.
Agent Cohen said the floors of other rooms were also covered in human decomposition fluids and a layer of insects, including maggots and flies. He began to describe how the bodies were stored, adding some had no coverings, some had partial coverings with head and feet exposed, others were found wrapped in plastic and duct tape, and some were found in black plastic totes. Agent Cohen said bodies of adults, infants, and fetuses were found.
He noted there was a bone grinder and a box of concrete mix in the first room. He said there was a homemade water cremation machine that appeared to have been used in another room.
Agent Cohen said the death dates of the bodies identified ranged from Sept. 15, 2019 to Aug. 22, 2023.
The prosecution asked Cohen about security video he reviewed from cameras inside and outside of the funeral home. Agent Cohen discussed one particular video dated Sept. 9, 2023 where he said Jon Hallford and a woman are seen arriving in the early morning hours. He said the outside video showed Jon Hallford appearing to look around to make sure no one was watching and then entered the funeral home.
Agent Cohen said camera footage inside the funeral home shows Jon Hallford grabbing a cart with an uncovered body on it. Cohen said Hallford is seen tipping the body off of the cart.
Prosecutors then showed photos of an exhumation at the Pikes Peak National Cemetery. Agent Cohen said there was a body identified inside the Return to Nature funeral home that was supposed to be buried at the Pikes Peak National Cemetery. He said it was the body of an Army Sergeant First Class who served the country for over 20 years.
Agent Cohen said the individual's grave was exhumed at the Pikes Peak National Cemetery after the discovery. He said the grave revealed the body of a different individual, of the opposite sex, wrapped in covering and duct tape. He said the veteran has since received a proper military burial.
The prosecution moved on to discuss bank records reviewed by Agent Cohen. He said records belonging to Hallford Homes, LLC showed non-business-related expenses, including the purchase of two vehicles. He said the records also showed purchases of 660 pounds of concrete mix from Home Depot.
The defense cross-examined Cohen who confirmed the vehicles purchased were later sold. Cohen said the funds were placed back into the business bank account.
Prosecutors called CBI Agent Christopher Adams to testify next. He said some death records sent to the state by the funeral home regarding the bodies found inside were inaccurate. Adams said the bodies were listed as either buried or cremated. He testified that investigators found boxes of records at the funeral home's location on Elkton Drive in Colorado Springs, which showed specific transactions families paid to the funeral home for its services.
Kevin Clark, an intelligence official with the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office, testified next. He said he reviewed Carie's cellphone records and said she got a new phone in Oct. 2023.
Clark said phone records gave them reason to believe Carie was the woman present at the funeral home with Jon Hallford on Sept. 9th. The defense cross-examined him and Clark confirmed that cell towers cannot pin the exact locations of phones, only the general area.
Clark read a few text messages between Carie and Jon Hallford, including messages in May 2020 detailing Jon talking about having a "grip" on "Penrose" and focusing on saving the two from going to prison. Clark said messages between the two in Oct. 2020 revealed Jon telling Carie how he is probably going to prison.
Clark testified Carie's phone records reveal she searched online for ways to avoid detection, ways to avoid being served, and also searched herself online.
The preliminary hearing was cut short around 5:15 p.m. due to time and courthouse hours. Judge William Moller said the hearing will resume on Jan. 17 at 1:30 p.m.
After the hearing, Lisa Ostly, whose father was identified inside the funeral home, said hearing all of these details at once was overwhelming.
“They had his body for 10 months and it should’ve been dust. And they just had it oozing all over everything else. It’s just disgusting. Unfathomable," she said."
The 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office said a hearing regarding the unsealing of the affidavit for this case will be held on Friday, Jan. 12 at 11 a.m.
Jon Hallford is expected back in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 8 at 1:30 p.m.
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