BODY OF LIES: Return to Nature Funeral Home, a Timeline

PENROSE, Colo. (KRDO) -- A handful of small shops in Penrose make a constant bid for customers to exit the busy Highway 115; with a population of just over 3,000 people, each person passing through the town represents another opportunity. 

One property, however, was not struggling to find a customer base -- despite appearances. 

The 2500 square foot building at 31 Werner Road, was purchased by HallfordHomes, LLC in 2021 according to assessor records.  It was a second location for the Return to Nature Funeral Home. 

But in the fall of 2023, the seemingly vacant building caught the eye of prospective buyers.  The location, within eyesight of the highway, was ideal for the business owners.

Walking around the property in that warm September sun, though, the entrepreneurs smelled a strong, foul odor.  They also noticed liquid seeping from the building.

Two weeks went by, and the pair returned to look at the property again at the beginning of October.  The smell hadn't waned -- it reached to the neighboring post office, the prospective business owners told KRDO13 on condition of anonymity.  The suspicious liquid, they noticed, was leaking from all sides of the business. 

They called the Fremont County Sheriff's Office, to check on the building.  The response provided no answers.

The deputy left this message with the business owners, which was shared with KRDO13:

"This is Deputy Tilley with the Fremont County Sheriff's Office.  We went over there to the funeral home.  Everything looks okay. No, it's not the most pleasant thing in the world, but something you can do, is go through the county commissioner's office, or you can go through the POST board, go through them and they might be able to do something for you... but, unfortunately, it's been like that for a while and there's nothing I can do. If you have any questions, it is a legal operation, so..."      

It would be just days later, October 4th, investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies at the county, state, and federal level would be on site, leaving no stone unturned.  It was also that day the state's Department of Regulatory Agencies made contact with the business co-owner, Jon Hallford.  Documents from that phone call reveal Hallford admitted to having "a problem" at the Penrose property, and that he practiced taxidermy at that location.  Hallford agreed to meet at the property later that day to facilitate an inspection, but didn't show up, according to those records.

Law enforcement was then able to gain access inside through a search warrant, upon which time they discovered human remains inside.

The discovery was enough for Colorado Governor Jared Polis to declare a disaster declaration for the area on October 5th, and for the Department of Regulatory Agencies to order a cease and desist against HallfordHomes, LLC and the Return to Nature Funeral Home.

On October 6th, Fremont County Coroner, Randy Keller, offered the first insight into what was found inside the Penrose property.

"After making entry to the facility, we found over 100 decedents who were improperly stored, and has created a hazard," said Keller.

Not long thereafter, investigators were then spotted searching the Colorado Springs location of Return to Nature, in the 900 block of Elkton Drive.  Again, the Department of Regulatory Agencies ordered a cease and desist for the Springs property, on grounds it did not have the required registration.

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The Penrose property remained a colossal crime scene for weeks: agents were forced to wear hazmat suits and air masks to retrieve bodies, left to rot inside.

The identification process necessitated the help of the nearby El Paso County Coroner's Office, as body count estimates soared to 189.

"We are exhausting every -- in existence, scientific, and investigative -- ability that we have to identify these people," said Dr. Leon Kelly, El Paso County Coroner.

As the weeks went by, so did the public outrage against Jon and Carie Hallford, however.  Investigators assured the public they were in contact with the couple, and that they were cooperating, despite the pair not being apprehended.

November 8th, the FBI confirmed the couple had been arrested in Wagoner, Oklahoma.

They both were charged with 260 felonies each, including abuse of a corpse, forgery, theft, and money laundering.

As of the time of this publication, Carie Hallford remains in the El Paso County Jail on $100,000 bond; Jon Hallford posted his bond at the end of January, when it was reduced from $2 million to $100,000.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen said he hopes Jon and Carie Hallford will be tried together at some point in 2024.