DENVER (AP) — A former Colorado funeral home owner who helped her ex-husband hide nearly 200 decomposing bodies is asking for leniency when she is sentenced Monday, saying she was a “scared and desperate mother” who was manipulated to keep the family business operating.
Carie Hallford, 48, faces up to 20 years in prison for taking over $130,000 from families for funeral services, often giving them urns filled with concrete instead of ashes. On August, she pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and admitted she and her ex-husband Jon Hallford defrauded customers and cheated the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in pandemic aid.
Carie’s attorney claims she was a victim of domestic abuse, with accusations that her former husband controlled her through threats of suicide and violence. Thus, Hallford is urging the court for a lesser sentence of eight years, emphasizing the fear and severe anxiety that drove her actions.
Meanwhile, families affected by the scandal have expressed outrage, with many feeling betrayed after they entrusted their loved ones to Hallford's care, only to discover the horrific conditions in which the bodies were kept.
Prosecutors, however, are recommending a more severe sentence of 15 years. They argue that Hallford's actions towards grieving families constituted a significant betrayal of trust and emphasized the gravity of the crime, especially considering it was one of the largest discoveries of decaying bodies in U.S. history.
Jon Hallford was sentenced to 20 years federally and 40 years in state court. Both sentences are to be served concurrently, as part of the pleas each entered in December related to nearly 200 counts of corpse abuse.
As Carie Hallford prepares for her sentencing, the case raises pressing questions about responsibility, manipulation, and the deep grief associated with losing a loved one under tragic circumstances.
