Colorado Springs businesses report ‘foul’ odor coming from funeral home under investigation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - While the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose is at the center of an investigation into the improper storage of more than 115 bodies, the Colorado Springs location has also come under scrutiny.
Thursday night, multiple agencies carried out a search warrant to the Colorado Springs property. They were forced to break into the building through a back window.
Nearby businesses said they haven't seen the owners in the past few days, but documents reviewed by 13 Investigates show state funeral home regulators made contact with the funeral home owner, Jon Hallford, on Oct. 4.
Those records also show Hallford admitted to regulators that he had a "problem" at the Penrose property, but claimed he practiced taxidermy there. Regulators went on to write that Hallford attempted to conceal the improper storage of remains. This correspondence was all before law enforcement made the gruesome discovery in Fremont County.
While investigators have yet to say what they found during the search of the Colorado Springs property, employees at neighboring businesses described an experience they had a few weeks back with the funeral home. Employees told 13 Investigates that within the last month, they noticed a "horrible and rotten" odor in the area.
One employee said they even went as far as to confront the funeral home owners about it. Another employee said they got the landlord involved after they said a foul smell continued for two to three weeks in September.
13 Investigates has reached out to the Colorado Springs Police Department and the Fremont County Sheriff's Office about the investigation into the Colorado Springs location. As of Friday evening, our team has yet to hear back.
