Families Who Had Loved Ones at ‘Green’ Colorado Funeral Home Believe They Were Given Fake Ashes

Colorado families who sent the bodies of their loved ones to a “green” funeral home now believe they were given fake ashes after 189 decaying bodies were discovered at the facility earlier this month.

Customers of Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, believe their family members were never been cremated, and fear that their bodies may be among the unidentified corpses that were discovered after authorities received reports of a “putrid” smell.

Tanya Wilson, who spread ashes she was given from the funeral home in Hawaii, told the Associated Press that she thinks the ashes and her mother’s cremation certificate are fraudulent.

“My mom’s last wish was for her remains to be scattered in a place she loved, not rotting away in a building,” Wilson told AP. “Any peace that we had, thinking that we honored her wishes, you know, was just completely ripped away from us.”

The two crematories that the funeral home had listed to families like Wilson's both told AP that they did not perform cremations for Return to Nature on the dates listed on families’ death certificates.

Four death certificates reviewed by AP all listed deaths that took place at least five months after a crematory owned by Wilbert Funeral Services stopped doing cremations for Return to Nature in November. At least 10 families have told Wilbert that they had death certificates from after the business partnership stopped, according to Wilbert’s attorney Lisa Epps.

Roselawn Funeral Home, another crematorium, was contacted by a family last week that had a death certificate from Return to Nature listing Roselawn as the crematory used in 2021. Manager Rudy Krasovec said that they did not perform the cremation.

Of all the families interviewed by AP, none of them said they received an identification tag that typically comes with cremated ashes to ensure they are authentic. Several of the families said they believed they were given dry concrete, and two other families even said they added water to the ashes and they solidified.

Stephanie Ford’s husband, Wesley, died in April and always said that he wanted to be cremated. But after taking a closer look at the ashes, Ford and her daughter do not believe it’s him. “I know logically it’s not my fault,” Ford told AP. “There’s a little bit of guilt on my part that I let him down.”

The business offered green burials as "a natural way of caring for your loved one with minimal environmental impact. Green Burial aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions and the preservation of habitat, WITHOUT the use of harsh embalming chemicals, metallic, plastic or unnatural items," according to its website.

State authorities said that it could take several months for the bodies to be identified and for families to be notified.

No one has been charged yet following the discovery of the bodies, however, Ian Farrell, a criminal law expert at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, said potential charges could include misdemeanor violations of mortuary regulations and misdemeanor fraud.

Fines of about $1 million could be applicable if each body results in separate charges. Farrell said the maximum consecutive sentence for misdemeanors is 2 years in jail.

Farrell believes authorities may be holding off on formally charging someone in case more bodies are found. If the suspects are federally charged their penalties could be more severe.