Jon and Carie Hallford, the owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home, are expected to go to trial in October following an arraignment hearing on Thursday morning. 

Both Hallfords are facing hundreds of charges related to the discovery of 190 bodies improperly stored at the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose. 

Return to Nature Funeral Home came under a multi-agency investigation in October after reports of a complaint about a foul odor in the area. Investigators said they found more than 180 bodies in various states of decomposition inside the building that were not properly stored. The two were arrested in Oklahoma in November 2023. Both appeared in court and had cash bonds set at $2 million.

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Although the arraignment hearing on Thursday was continued, attorneys agreed to tentatively set Oct. 14 for the beginning of trial, which lawyer Michael Stuzynski said he expects to last about four weeks. 

Jon and Carie Hallford will return to court on June 6 for a second arraignment hearing, where the couple is expected to plead not guilty. 

Despite attorneys for both Jon and Carie Hallford agreeing to continue the hearing and tentatively set for trial, they noted their objection to the motion to have the cases joined and tried together. Prosecutor Rachel Powell informed the court that the motion to have the cases joined had been filed, but Judge William Moller did not rule on it Thursday to give the defense time for the filing of a response. 

The couple both appeared to court out of custody after posting the $100,000 bond to be released from custody earlier this year. 

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Carie Hallford’s bond was recently called into question after the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office informed families earlier this month that she had allegedly missed a required sobriety test, one of the requirements of her bond. 

Stuzynski on Thursday informed the court that the alleged missed test was a misunderstanding, and that Carie Hallford had actually appeared at the facility on the date in question to take her sobriety test but was asked not to by staff. He continued that Carie Hallford has been compliant with all other factors of her bond thus far, including GPS monitoring. 

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A staff member for Embrave also provided a written letter to the court to explain the misunderstanding and confirming that Carie Hallford did appear at the facility to take her sobriety test, Stuzynski said. 

The prosecution had nothing to add to Stuzynski’s record, and Judge Moller ruled to make no modifications to Carie Hallford’s bond.  

Powell did, however, request to readdress Jon Hallford’s bond over allegations that he lied to the court. Powell claimed that Jon Hallford lied to the court about his son being enrolled in school in Colorado Springs, a reason that Jon Hallford’s attorneys gave to the court as a “tie to the community” factor to be considered for bond. 

Powell stated that it became known to the district attorney’s office that Jon Hallford’s son is no longer enrolled in school in Colorado and now lives in Oklahoma with his grandparents. She went on to argue that if the court considered Jon Hallford’s child’s school enrollment as a factor of bond, then the court should raise his bond.

Adam Steigerwald, Jon Hallford’s attorney, claimed that Powell was misinformed and that when he made that request he was referring to the Hallford’s 17-year-old daughter who originally was enrolled in school in Colorado, but due to the publicity of the case she now resides and attends school in Florida. 

Judge Moller did not rule on raising Jon Hallford’s bond, stating that he would give Steigerwald 14 days to respond to the people’s motion before determining if a new hearing on bond will be scheduled. 

Heather DeWolf and her son Austin were in the courthouse lobby following the Thursday morning arraignment hearing. Heather’s son and Austin’s brother, Zach — who died in 2022, has yet to be identified as one of the individuals discovered at the Penrose facility. 

The two expressed their frustration about waiting until October for a trial. 

“It’s frustrating that they’re pushing it back to potentially October. But I’m confident that the only reason that they’re doing it is they (the Hallfords) have no defense,” Austin DeWolf said. 

Heather DeWolf expressed her frustration in the alleged lies told by Jon Hallford regarding the statements provided to the court that his children were actively in school in the area as a means for his bond to be lowered. 

“There are no words. To use his child like that is unthinkable, and he needs to be held accountable for that as well,” Heather DeWolf said.

Samantha Naranjo, who’s grandmother was discovered inside the Return to Nature Penrose location in October, echoed Heather DeWolf’s desire to hold the Hallfords accountable. 

“Obviously, they lied to us and now they continue to lie to the court. It shows their integrity,” Naranjo said.

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