The owners of funeral homes in Colorado where decomposed bodies were found have returned to the state to face charges
Colorado Springs, Colorado. (AP) – The owners of a Colorado funeral home where 190 sets of decomposed human remains were found have been returned to the state to face hundreds of criminal charges.
Carrie Halford appeared in U.S. District Court in Colorado Springs via video on Wednesday. District Judge Samorian Burney maintained bail at $2 million cash during the advisory hearing. KRDO-TV reported. John Halford’s recommended hearing was Friday and his bail also remained at $2 million.
Carrie Halford’s public defender requested that the bail be reduced to $50,000, noting that she had no criminal record, but Burney indicated that she had faced more than 250 criminal charges. The Halfords face 190 counts of abuse of a corpse, more than 50 counts of forgery, five counts of theft and four counts of money laundering, federal court records said.
No call entered. Their next court appearance is scheduled for December 5.
Court records indicate that Halford’s family is represented by the public defender’s office, which does not comment on cases to the media.
The case began in early October when a report was received “bad smell” This led to the discovery of the bodies at Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, about 34 miles (55 kilometers) southwest of Colorado Springs.
After the bodies were recovered, officials said there were 190 sets of remains, some of which had been there As long as four years. The coroner’s office used fingerprints and medical records to try to identify the bodies, and will use DNA if necessary, officials said.
Family members were falsely told that their loved ones had been cremated and were given materials that were not their ashes, court records stated.
It was a couple He was arrested on November 8 at John Halford’s father’s home in Oklahoma, according to a federal arrest warrant that alleges they fled the state to avoid prosecution. The federal charge was dropped after their arrest.
Carrie Halford was booked into the El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs on Tuesday, and John Halford was returned to Colorado on Wednesday.
