Return to Nature

Return to Nature, formerly located at 123 East Las Animas Street in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was a funeral home that marketed itself as an eco-friendly alternative for end-of-life services. The business offered a range of options including traditional full-service burial, full-service cremation, affordable burial, and direct cremation, with prices listed at $5,820, $3,665, $4,125, and $495 respectively. However, the establishment gained notoriety not for its services but for a devastating scandal that unfolded in the early 2020s, leading to its permanent closure and extensive criminal proceedings.

Owned and operated by Jon and Carie Hallford, Return to Nature promoted itself as a provider of green burials and compassionate care. Yet investigations revealed that the Hallfords had engaged in a pattern of fraud and abuse. In 2023, authorities discovered nearly 190 improperly stored human bodies at the company’s facility in Penrose, Colorado, many of which were in advanced stages of decomposition. Further inquiry uncovered that grieving families had been given substitute materials—such as fake cremains—instead of their loved ones’ actual remains. The Hallfords were also found to have misused COVID-19 relief funds intended for the funeral business, spending the money on luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency, and high-end goods.

The ensuing legal battles were unprecedented in Colorado history. Jon Hallford was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud and later to 40 years in state prison on charges including 191 counts of abuse of a corpse, forgery, theft, and money laundering. Carie Hallford, after initially pleading guilty and then withdrawing her plea, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, with state sentencing pending. The case drew national media attention, including an episode of HBO Max’s docuseries “The Curious Case of…” titled “The Funeral Home of Horrors.”

Today, Return to Nature is permanently closed. The address at 123 East Las Animas Street now houses a different organization—Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families—a social services nonprofit. The funeral home’s tragic legacy serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of families during times of grief and the critical importance of accountability in the death care industry. No official website for Return to Nature remains operational, and the business has been entirely shuttered following the criminal convictions of its owners.