US funeral home fined $950m in decaying bodies case

A US funeral home where 190 decaying bodies were found has been ordered to pay $950m (£746m) to the families of the victims.

The Return to Nature home, in the town of Penrose, Colorado, had given fake ashes to grieving relatives instead of their loved-ones' remains.

A judge ordered the payment in a civil case, but it's unlikely to be paid as the funeral home owners, Jon and Carie Hallford, had been in serious financial difficulties.

Neither attended the hearings. Mr Hallford is in custody, while his wife is out on bail.

“I’m never going to get a dime from them, so, I don’t know, it’s a little frustrating,” Crystina Page, who hired the funeral home to cremate her son’s remains in 2019, told the Associated Press.

Ms Page, who carried what she thought were her son's ashes for four years before his body was identified at the home, also said the couple's non-appearance in court felt like a slap in the face.

The victims' lawyer, Andrew Swan, told AP that while the couple's financial position was known from the outset, his clients wanted answers.

“I would have preferred that they participate, if only because I wanted to put them on the witness stand, have them put under oath and ask them how they came to do this, not once, not twice, but hundreds of times,” he said.

More than 100 family members are involved in the civil case, which has been left open in case others come forward.

The Hallfords also face hundreds of state and federal criminal charges, including abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering and forgery.

They had been offered a plea deal by state prosecutors on 190 counts of abuse of a corpse, the BBC's US partner CBS says. However, it is unclear if it still stands.

Located about 30 miles (48km) south of Colorado Springs, the funeral home specialised in burials where no chemicals, including embalming fluid, were used and where remains were buried in a biodegradable casket.

It came under investigation after reports of a foul odour coming from the property led to officials discovering 115 bodies there early last October.

Jon Hallford was accused by officials of attempting to conceal the "improper storage of human remains".

Green funerals are allowed in the state but remains must be buried within 24 hours or be properly refrigerated.

Funeral home operators in Colorado are currently not required to be licensed, have a degree in mortuary science or even graduate high school.

Tougher legislation has been passed since the scandal erupted, but will not come into force until 2026.