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The Curious Case of... episode 4 documents the story of Jon and Carie Hallford, who were the co-owners of the infamous The Return to Nature Funeral Home. The couple was convicted of storing almost 200 decomposing dead bodies in their facility. Their secret was revealed when neighbors reported a foul smell coming from their facility.
When investigators obtained a search warrant for the funeral home, they found a horrific scene: around 190 bodies piled on top of one another, subjected to corpse abuse. The Curious Case of... episode 4, titled The Funeral Home of Horrors, is set to premiere on February 10, 2025, on Investigation Discovery. The official synopsis reads:
"Jon and Carie Hallford's return to nature promises care but instead leaves bodies decomposing."
The Curious Case of... episode 4: How was Jon and Carie Hallford's secret revealed?
Jon and Carie Hallford were the co-owners of The Return to Nature Funeral Home, which operated in the Colorado Springs area and Penrose, Colorado. Their business mainly focused on cremation and funeral services.
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As reported by USA Today on November 23, 2024, the Hallfords advertised their funeral home as providing "green" natural burials, an eco-friendly alternative that did not use preserving chemicals or metal coffins.
As reported by ABC News, in October 2023, residents near the facility called the Fremont County Sheriff's Office to report a foul smell leaking from the funeral home. When authorities arrived, Jon Hallford claimed that the smell was due to his habit of doing taxidermy.
However, as per the USA Today article, the FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation attained a search warrant and discovered a horrific scene inside the building. Investigators discovered nearly 190 decomposing dead bodies spread randomly across the facility. As per a CBS News article, the prosecutor stated:
"The bodies were contained in disposable body bags, wrapped in sheets and duct tape, partially wrapped in sheets, wrapped in plastic garbage bags and duct tape, or exposed with no covering at all. Some were even stuffed into plastic totes."
They added:
"The bodies were lying on the ground. stacked on shelves, left on gurneys, stacked on top of each other, or just piled in rooms."
As per USA Today, the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that the facility was full of biohazards, which contrasted with the claims made by Return to Nature Funeral Home. The corpses retrieved from the funeral home were in various stages of decomposition, with some dating back to 2019.
The U.S. Attorney's Office stated in an October news release:
"As part of their fraud scheme, the Hallfords misled customers of the funeral home into believing that the remains of their loved ones would be buried or cremated per their wishes and the terms of the parties’ contracts."
As reported by Dexerto on February 3, 2025, authorities later discovered that the Hallfords gave their customers dry concrete in the urn instead of cremated remains.
Jon and Carie Hallford were reportedly arrested for fraud and corpse abuse
In November 2023, Jon and Carie Hallford were arrested while attempting to flee to Oklahoma. Prosecutors allege that the Hallfords defrauded their customers of more than $130,000 through cremation and burial contracts that they didn't perform.
At that time, the Hallfords faced a total of 249 charges related to their crimes. In April 2024, they were also charged with scamming COVID-19 relief funds. They reportedly received a donation of $882,300 after Jon Hallford claimed to be paying child support.
The Hallfords were charged with fraud and misusing donation money to carry out their crimes, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office. In a press release published on October 24, 2024, it was announced that Jon and Carie Hallford pleaded guilty to one count of committing conspiracy and wire fraud.
As per CBS News, the Hallfords used the fraud money to buy two SUVs, including an Infiniti and a GMV Yukon, totaling $120,000. They also invested $31,000 in cryptocurrency and made luxury purchases from stores like Tiffany & Co. and Gucci while taking luxurious trips across Florida, California, and Las Vegas.
The Hallfords could face up to 20 years in federal prison. As reported by ABC News on November 23, 2024, they are scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2025. The Hallfords will also appear in the state court on April 18, 2025.
As reported by The Gazette on November 22, 2024, during their hearing, District Attorney Michael Allen said:
"The impact on these family members has been immense," he added. "It's just something that strikes at the very core of trust, and when you're going through life experiences of loved ones, and having somebody violate that trust is something that they'll likely never recover from, but it's an honor for us to be able to stand with them in this process to achieve justice for them."
To know more about Jon and Carie Hallford's case, watch The Curious Case of... episode 4 titled The Funeral Home of Horrors on Max.
