115 bodies in ‘horrific’ scene at funeral home probed

CAÑON CITY, Colo. — The awful smell seeped from a neglected building in a small Colorado town for days, followed by a report that made police take a closer look at the “green” funeral operator’s storage facility. Inside, they made a gruesome discovery: at least 115 decaying bodies.

Investigators were tightlipped Friday about exactly what they found inside the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., but their plans to bring in teams that usually deal with airline crashes, coroners from nearby jurisdictions and the FBI pointed to a grim mess.

A state document, meanwhile, alleged funeral home owner Jon Hallford tried to conceal the improper storage of corpses. He claimed he was doing taxidermy at the facility, according to the state suspension letter dated Thursday.

Hallford acknowledged he had a “problem” at the property, the Colorado Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration letter said. The document did not elaborate on the taxidermy and alleged improper storage of remains, but the facility’s registration has been expired since November.

No one had been arrested or charged.

Funeral home officials were cooperating as investigators sought to determine any criminal wrongdoing, Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said at a news conference where he called the scene inside the building “horrific.”

On Friday, a sour, rotten stench still came from the back of the building, where windows were broken. Coroner’s officials from Fremont County and nearby El Paso County parked their trucks outside and discussed among themselves as they walked around the building.

Some identifications would require taking fingerprints, finding medical or dental records, and DNA testing in a process that could take several months, Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller said. Families would be notified as soon as possible after body identification, he added.

As the news broke, Mary Simons, 47, couldn’t help but wonder if her husband was inside the building. Darrell Simons had lung cancer and died of pneumonia in August, a few months shy of their 13th anniversary. Mary Simons hired Return to Nature Funeral Home to cremate him, but the ashes never arrived.

“Suddenly it’s like, ‘Oh my God’, I’ve lost him all over again,’ ” Simons said. “It’s like the grieving process is starting all over again.”

Police told Simons the process of finding out whether her husband’s body was in the building would be slow, she said.