EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. — Carie Hallford, one of the co-owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home where 190 bodies were improperly stored bonded out of the El Paso County Jail Tuesday evening.
Hallford, who previously appeared in an El Paso County Jail records search is no longer appearing. Carie is the wife of Jon Hallford, the other owner of the funeral home who has been out on bond since January 29.
A judge reduced bonds for both Jon and Carie Hallford from $2 million to $100,000 at previous court appearances.
Jon and Carie both face more than 250 felony counts, including abuse of a corpse, money laundering, forgery, and theft.
WATCH: CO-OWNER OF PENROSE FUNERAL HOME CONFRONTED IN COURT
The couple has arraignments scheduled for March 21.
BACKGROUND
Return to Nature Funeral Home came under a multi-agency investigation in October following reports of a complaint about a foul odor in the area. Investigators said they found more than 180 bodies in various states of decomposition inside the building that were not properly stored. The two were arrested in Oklahoma in November of 2023.
In what was a multi-agency clean-up effort, coroner offices and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation worked tirelessly for a couple of weeks to remove the bodies from the building before the identification process could begin.
It was not until early November that the owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home were arrested in Oklahoma. Jon and Carie Hallford were moved to El Paso County by late November where both appeared in court and had cash bonds set at $2 million.
Following their arrests, News5's Eleanor Sheahan spoke with families who were victims of the funeral home.
WATCH: VICTIMS OF RETURN TO NATURE SHARE WHAT OWNER'S ARRESTS MEAN TO THEM
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