A judge in Colorado has mandated that a funeral home compensate families with a sum exceeding $950 million after discovering their deceased loved ones in various stages of decomposition.
The Return to Nature home in Penrose, Colorado, was trusted by hundreds of families to manage the remains of their loved ones. Owners Jon and Carie Hallford were expected to fulfill these responsibilities adequately.
The funeral home, known for offering burials without chemicals and utilizing biodegradable caskets, provided families with ashes. However, an investigation commenced last October after authorities were alerted by a foul odor emanating from the property.
Upon inspection, authorities found nearly 200 bodies that had not been properly disposed of.
During court proceedings, it was revealed that parts of the building were covered in fluids resulting from body decomposition. Affidavits detailed scenes of bodies scattered throughout rooms and stacked upon each other.
Evidence showed that between 2020 and 2023, Jon Hallford purchased over 600 pounds of concrete mix, allegedly used to simulate ashes when returned to families.
In response to these revelations, over 100 family members filed a civil lawsuit against the Hallfords.
The funeral home owners now face numerous state and federal criminal charges, including abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering, and forgery.
Judge Lynette Wenner presided over the civil case and decided that the funeral home owners must pay $956,825,044.10 to the affected families.
This historic judgment was highlighted in a letter from the law firm representing the families on August 5, noting it as the largest payout in Colorado’s history.
However, it has been observed that the Hallfords are experiencing significant financial hardships, which may hinder the families from receiving the awarded compensation.
Neither Jon nor Carie attended the civil case hearings.
Crystina Page, whose son was among those found at the funeral home in October, shared her thoughts on the ruling with KKTV. “I want to jump up and down and be very, very happy. But the reality is that, number one, we’ll never see a dime of it,” she said.
She described the ruling as ‘bittersweet’, stating, “It feels validating to know that a judge has determined that this loss was this significant.”
Yet, she feels the judgment does not compensate for the loss of her son.
“So with or without this judgment, I feel like they still owe me,” Page expressed.
Following the civil judgment, the Hallfords are slated to appear in court on September 20 for their criminal case.