The co-owners, who are married, of a Colorado Funeral Home where 200 bodies in decomposition were discovered pleaded guilty to corpse abuse on Friday.

Return to Nature Funeral Home was run by Jon and Carie Hallford in Colorado Springs and Penrose.

In October 2023, the shocking discovery at Penrose was made after the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office received reports of residents complaining about a foul smell coming from the facility. Officials said that some of the bodies discovered were from as early as 2019.

Michael Allen, the prosecutor in this case, reported that the two had pleaded guilty on 191 counts. Two of the counts involve burying the wrong bodies.

Allen stated that the judge accepted their pleas at a Friday hearing, but has not accepted the plea deals. He will reserve his judgment until next year’s sentencing.

The district attorney has said that Carie Hallford could face 15 to 20 years in prison and Jon Hallford could face 20 years.

The sentencing date for these defendants is April 18, 2025.

Allen, speaking outside the El Paso County Courthouse on Friday, said: “This case has been a big emotional struggle for the families who are present.” “The impact of this case has been enormous.”

He said that victims “likely” will never recover from the breach of trust, but his office is honored to “achieve Justice for them.”

According to court documents, investigators discovered a fraud scheme that the couple was running, in which they defrauded customers who thought their loved ones were going to be buried or cremated.

In court documents, the couple admitted that they had accepted payment for services and never performed them. They would sometimes provide dry concrete mix instead of cremains.

Documents in court show that the couple admitted collecting over $130,000 for cremation and burial services they never provided. This was done over a period of more than four years. According to court documents, they also admitted conspiring to steal more than $800,000.00 in COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Last month, both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud by wire in a federal case. The case is scheduled for sentencing on March 20, 2025. Prosecutors said that they each faced up to 20 years of federal prison.

Allen stated that it’s possible the state prison term would run concurrently with the federal sentence.

Carie Hallford was taken into custody after her bond was revoked at the hearing on Friday. Her lawyer declined to comment.

Jon Hallford had already been arrested. The public defender’s office represents him but does not make any comments on the case.