Couple Arrested After 189 Decaying Bodies Found at ‘Green’ Colorado Funeral Home

A husband and wife were arrested after 189 decaying corpses were discovered at the funeral home they own in Colorado Springs.

An "abhorrent smell" coming from the Return to Nature Funeral Home was reported to authorities a month ago. Investigators were shocked to find the remains of 189 bodies at the facility, which promotes so-called "green" burial services that do not use embalming methods or other common preservation techniques.

Jon Hallford was identified as the owner of Return to Nature, along with his wife Carie. The director of Colorado's Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration spoke on the phone with Jon, who said there was a "problem" at the site while claiming he practiced taxidermy there.

The couple was arrested in Wagoner, Oklahoma, and charged with four felonies: abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering, and forgery. Jon is currently being held at the Muskogee County jail. It's unclear if Carie is also being held at the same facility.

Families whose loved ones' bodies were handled by the funeral home are now worried their loved ones may be among the decaying corpses. Return to Nature claimed to partner with two crematories but both told the Associated Press they had not worked with the funeral home.

Tanya Wilson says her mother was supposed to be cremated but instead was one of the bodies found. She said she does not "feel any satisfaction" from the arrest of the Hallfords.

"I don’t think any amount of jail/prison time will justify my brother having to clean my mother’s rotting flesh off her bracelet that they gave back to us. Nothing," Wilson said in a text to the AP.

At least one family has filed suit against Return to Nature and the Hallfords, accusing them of negligence, fraud, and violating several Colorado laws.