Judge rejects Carie Hallford plea deal in Return to Nature corpse abuse case
By Celeste Springer
Click here for updates on this story
EL PASO COUNTY, Colorado (KRDO) — On Monday, a judge rejected a plea agreement for disgraced funeral home director Carie Hallford in the case of 191 counts of abuse of a corpse.
Carie Hallford, along with her husband Jon, were accused of leaving close to 200 bodies to stack up and decay at their Penrose, Colorado funeral home. The two allegedly gave families fake cremains of their loved ones.
Back in November, the two pleaded guilty to 191 counts of Abuse of a Corpse, a Class 6 Felony, for leaving bodies to decay in the funeral home without cremating them.
During court on Monday, the victims made objections to the plea deal of 15 to 20 years for Carie, noting that they believe the sentence is too short for justice.
Last year, a judge rejected Jon Hallford’s plea agreement for the case. On Monday, the judge said for the same reasons, he is rejecting Carie’s.
Carie’s case will now head to trial, with a date tentatively set for Oct. 6, 2026.
This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.