Former Colorado funeral owner sentenced to 18 years after nearly 200 bodies found
Mar 16th 2026
Carie Hallford was sentenced to 18 years for defrauding grieving families and misusing pandemic relief after investigators discovered nearly 200 decomposing bodies at her funeral home.
- Carie Hallford, 48, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
- Prosecutors say she took more than $130,000 from families and often gave urns filled with concrete instead of ashes.
- Investigators found nearly 200 decomposing bodies at the Colorado Springs funeral home, with bodies stacked, leaking fluids, and insect infestations.
- Hallford and her ex-husband Jon Hallford admitted to defrauding the federal government of nearly $900,000 in pandemic small business aid.
- Hallford asked for leniency, saying she was manipulated and abused by her ex-husband, a claim rejected by multiple victims.
- She faces an additional 25 to 35 years in state court next month and Jon Hallford received 20 years in federal court and 40 years in state court.