Colorado funeral home owners who allegedly sent fake ashes to families while their loved ones decayed in storage ordered to pay nearly $1 billion

Jesse Bedayn, Associated Press/Report For America

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado ceremonial location owners who allegedly stored 190 decaying bodies and sent grieving families clone ashes were ordered by a judge to salary $950 cardinal to nan victims’ relatives successful a civilian case, nan lawyer announced Monday.

The judgement is improbable to beryllium paid retired since nan owners, Jon and Carie Hallford, person been successful financial problem for years. They besides look hundreds of criminal charges successful abstracted authorities and national cases, including maltreatment of a corpse, and allegations they took $130,000 from families for cremations and burials they ne'er provided.

That leaves nan astir $1 cardinal sum mostly symbolic of nan affectional devastation wreaked connected family members who learned nan remains of their mothers, fathers aliases children weren’t successful nan ashes they ceremonially dispersed aliases clutched tight but were alternatively decaying successful a bug-infested building.

“I’m ne'er going to get a dime from them, so, I don’t know, it’s a small frustrating,” said Crystina Page, who had hired nan ceremonial home, Return to Nature, to cremate her son’s remains successful 2019.

A hearse and debris tin beryllium seen astatine nan rear of nan Return to Nature Funeral Home successful Penrose, Colo., Oct. 5, 2023. A family revenge a suit Monday, Oct. 30, against nan Colorado ceremonial location wherever 189 decaying bodies were recovered alleging that nan owners, a hubby and wife, allowed nan remains of their loved ones and to ‘rot’ distant while they sent families clone ashes. | Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP File

She carried nan urn she thought held his ashes crossed nan state until nan news arrived successful 2023 that his assemblage had been identified successful nan Return to Nature facility, 4 years aft his death.

Dozens of family members person received akin news arsenic nan 190 bodies person been identified, shattering their grieving processes. Many are still picking up nan pieces, haunted by nightmares of what their decomposing family personnel whitethorn person looked like, aliases burdened by guilt that they had fto a loved 1 down.

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“If thing else,” Page said, this judgement “will bring much knowing to nan case.”

“I’m hoping it’ll make group go, ‘Oh, wow, this isn’t conscionable astir ashes,’” she said, adding that acold much group are impacted than conscionable those listed successful nan lawsuit.

While nan victims and nan people action’s attorney, Andrew Swan, understood from nan outset that it was improbable families would person immoderate financial compensation, portion of nan dream was to haul nan Hallfords into tribunal and request answers.

That, too, went unfulfilled.

Jon Hallford, who is successful custody, and Carie Hallford, who is retired connected bail, did not admit nan civilian lawsuit aliases show up to hearings, Swan said.

“I would person preferred that they participate, if only because I wanted to put them connected nan witnesser stand, person them put nether oath and inquire them really they came to do this, not once, not twice, but hundreds of times,” said Swan.

To Page, it felt for illustration different slap successful nan look from nan Hallfords.

The civilian suit lists complete 100 family members but has been near unfastened successful lawsuit different victims travel guardant since 190 full bodies were discovered successful nan ceremonial homes installation successful Penrose, southwest of nan company’s agency successful Colorado Springs.

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Jon Hallford is being represented by nan nationalist defender’s office, which does not remark connected cases. Carie Hallford’s attorney, Michael Stuzynski, was not instantly disposable for comment.

The lawsuit helped spur Colorado lawmakers to walk sweeping regulations connected nan ceremonial location manufacture successful nan state, which antecedently had nan laxest rules successful nan nation.

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