A Colorado judge has ordered the owners of a funeral home to pay $1billion (£782m) in damages for mishandling bodies. Jon and Carie Hallford, who ran the now infamous Return to Nature Funeral Home where 190 bodies were found this summer, are also accused of misappropriating nearly $900,000 (£703.6k) in pandemic relief funds on personal luxuries such as holidays, cosmetic surgery and jewellery.
The couple was arrested last October on a $2million bond, facing charges including approximately 190 counts of abuse of a corpse, five counts of theft, four counts of money laundering, and over 50 counts of forgery. Judge Lynette Wenner of the Fremont County District Court has now ruled that they must pay more than $956 million in damages, a figure which could exceed $1billion with interest according to attorney Andrew Swan, who represented the victims' families. Each family member involved in the class action has been awarded more than $7million, an amount believed to be the largest monetary judgment in Colorado history.
Despite their registration expiring, the Hallfords continued to operate the funeral home without any restrictions. In Colorado, anyone can become a funeral director, and obtaining a license is voluntary by other state standards, although they can be regulated through the Colorado Funeral Directors Association. It was reports of a "repugnant" odour emanating from the funeral home that led neighbours to alert investigators.
However, without a search warrant, authoritie.