"Carie Hallford was the public face of Return to Nature, dealing with bereaved customers at the couple's funeral home in Colorado Springs. Authorities found bodies piled throughout a bug-infested building after neighbors complained about a foul odor."
"Among the remains was the mother of Tanya Wilson, who told District Judge Eric Bentley that the family released what they thought were her ashes from a boat in Hawaii. It turned out her body was lying in toxic fluids on the floor of the Hallfords' makeshift mortuary."
"To preserve her dignity, they brushed her hair, applied her favorite moisturizer and dressed her in special clothes. 'Carie Hallford annihilated that dignity,' said Wilson."
"Carie Hallford apologized prior to being sentenced, saying she was raised to know right from wrong but had lost who she once was."
Carie Hallford, a former funeral home owner, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for concealing nearly 200 decomposing bodies. This case prompted stricter regulations in Colorado's funeral industry. Hallford previously received an 18-year sentence in a federal fraud case, claiming abuse and manipulation in her marriage. Her ex-husband received a 40-year sentence for corpse abuse. Families were misled, receiving fake ashes instead of cremated remains, leading to emotional distress and a loss of dignity for the deceased.
Read at abc7.com
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