Carie Hallford, co-owner of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, is expected to change her federal plea in connection to a massive funeral home scandal involving the improper storage of more than 190 decomposing bodies.
According to court documents filed Monday, Hallford’s federal trial — originally scheduled for September — has been canceled. A change of plea hearing is now scheduled for August 4th.
Hallford initially pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, stemming from allegations that she and her husband took payments from families for funeral services that were never provided.
Her husband and co-owner, Jon Hallford, pleaded guilty to the same federal charges and was sentenced last month to the maximum 20-year prison term. The couple has also pleaded guilty to nearly 200 state charges related to abuse of a corpse.
The scandal shocked the state last fall when investigators discovered the decomposing remains at the Penrose facility, prompting outrage and legislative scrutiny of the funeral home industry in Colorado.
