Judge accepts Hallford plea agreements in Return to Nature case

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- A judge ruled to accept plea deals offered for Jon and Carie Hallford on Monday afternoon.

The couple ran the now-infamous Return to Nature funeral home, where they were accused of leaving close to 200 bodies to stack up and decompose, reportedly giving families fake cremains.

"You are the most articulate group of victimized individuals speaking about the nightmares burned into your brain. I’ve heard your concerns, and they have moved me as they have moved me before," the judge said during the hearing.

Back in August, a judge rejected Jon Hallford's initial plea agreement on the state charges, siding with some victims who said the 20-year deal was not enough time.

However, this time around, the plea agreements were accepted by the judge. Jon Hallford's new agreement stipulates a prison sentence of somewhere between 30 and 50 years. Carie's sentence would range from 25 to 35 years.

Samantha Naranjo has been fighting for justice for her grandmother, the additional 190 bodies found in Return to Nature, and all other unidentified individuals. 

"Although low to us family members, it is a big charge, and it is making history in Colorado, 191 counts of abuse to corpse is huge," said Samantha Naranjo.

She is grateful they are facing a harsher penalty than the initial plea agreement, but says ideally, they would have a harsher sentence.

"It was like defeating 191 years would have been beautiful. I want them to suffer. As long as we will suffer," said Naranjo.

Naranjo's grandmother, Dorothy Tardif, was found in the Penrose building in 2023. Naranjo carries a jar of what she initially believed to be her grandmother's ashes mixed with her uncle's and grandfather's.

"This was part of the remains that Jon and Carie gave us, which I carried for a year before I found out that it wasn't hers. I still carry it. Not only to help represent the unknown victim that I carry or the victims that I carry, but they're mixed with my grandfather and my uncle, whom I'll never be able to unmix," explained Samantha Naranjo.

When Naranjo's grandmother's body was returned to her, she was properly cremated. Naranjo now carries her grandmother's true cremains in a necklace.

"It's very hard to put somebody to rest after you thought you'd already done that. It's hard to celebrate a date. You know, we celebrate her birthday. We celebrate the date of death. We also now celebrate the date she was put to rest. Because that is very important to us to know that she was finally being respected and her wishes were being fulfilled. Even though Jon and Carie couldn't do that for us," said Naranjo.

She said the nightmares are real and recounts that everything she saw was worse than any horror movie. For Naranjo and many other victims, she said the trauma will span generations. She says it will be hard to trust any funeral services when others pass away.

"My son asked me all the time if our dog, who passed away six months after grandma, if we really have his ashes. And it breaks my heart that I lie to him every time, tell him that we do. But I don't know. They didn't give us grandma. How am I supposed to know they gave us our dog?" questioned Naranjo.

Naranjo has continued to push for changes to the funeral home laws in Colorado. She advocated for the changes in making DORA inspections necessary and plans to continue the fight in her grandmother's honor.

"I really hope that our laws change that and protect us for the future. That this my grandmother's legacy. My grandmother's legacy is changing laws and making something beautiful out of something so horrendous," shared Naranjo.

Jon's official prison sentence will be determined in February, and Carie's in April.

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