Jon and Carie Hallford will not see 2026 trials as an El Paso County judge ruled to accept the most recent plea agreements for the pair Monday, despite heavy argument from the victims.

The Hallfords came under a multi-agency investigation in October 2023 after an investigation on their Penrose Return to Nature site 35 miles southwest of Colorado Springs resulted in the discovery of over 190 decomposing bodies. The pair faced both state and federal charges.

A few hours ahead of the 1:30 p.m. hearing, victims of the Return to Nature Funeral Home case protested outside the downtown Colorado Springs courthouse.

Judge Eric Bentley separately rejected the couple’s initial plea agreements this year after outcry from the victims over the length of the sentence and desire for a trial. The original plea agreement stipulated a 20-year prison sentence each to run concurrently to their federal sentences.

Victims on Monday filled rows of the courtroom waiting for Bentley to rule in favor of or against the Hallfords’ plea deal, with some against the negotiation, finding it “absurd.”

Chrystina Page, a victim in the case and mother of David Jaxon Page, whose body was found in the Penrose funeral home four years after his death, said the proposed plea agreement is not enough to compensate for the damage done to her and other victims.

“We are asking for 191 years, which is one year for each of the bodies that were recovered, and two years, eight months, one week and three days, which is another day for each of the (bodies) that have not been accounted for.”

Page says she is referencing the approximately 1,100 people that Return to Nature is said to have cremated over the duration of the scandal — over 900 families who did not have loved ones found in the funeral home, but have doubts about the remains they were given.

“This is not 191 people affected. This is 191 rotting bodies found in a building, and 987 other bodies that have not been found,” Page said.

Angelika Stedman said she used Return to Nature for her late daughter, Chanelle Chaloux, but her body was never found.

“I lost my daughter twice,” Stedman said. “I certainly believe that going to trial, which we’re hoping for, that even if one more person is able to find some answers, to get some kind of closure it is worth it,” Stedman said.

If accepted, the new plea agreements would give Jon Hallford a 30- to 50-year prison sentence and Carie Hallford a 25- to 35-year sentence. The sentence would run concurrently to the federal sentences.

Jon Hallford, 46, has already been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges, but has since appealed the sentence.

Carie Hallford, 49, is set for federal sentencing in March. She is expected to receive 15 years in federal prison.

Pre-hearing protest

Before the hearing, the families of victims protested outside the El Paso County Courthouse, giving testimonials to the impact that the actions of the Hallfords have on them.

Many appeared teary-eyed, hand in hand with other victims, as they told stories of their loved ones and showed a bag with nearly 200 acorns, one for each victim who was promised to have a tree planted in their honor by the Hallfords, Page said.

“This protest is a public call for accountability and justice. Victims and their families are urging the court to reject any plea agreement and allow the case to proceed to trial,” a Friday news release from the victims stated.

Prior to 2020, abuse of a corpse was a class two misdemeanor, and carried a possible jail term of three months to a year. House Bill 20-1148 altered how the crime is classified, changing it to a level 6 felony with a sentencing guideline of one year to 18 months, and although not likely in the Hallfords’ case, probation is an option for some level 6 felony offenders.

At the protest, Page said the Hallfords should be charged per victim, with an 18-month maximum sentence for each of the 191 bodies recovered, totaling to over 280 years, each. A 191-year sentence, which Page is aiming for, is one year per victim.

“If they think that 191 years is absurd, they should have stopped after my son, and this would be an 18-month case,” Page said.

If plea agreements are rejected, trials for Jon and Carie Hallford are scheduled to begin in February and October, respectively. Prosecutors said they were likely to call to the stand nearly 200 family members whose relatives’ remains were discovered, to testify to the state of the bodies when handed over, and communication between them and the Hallfords.