Owners of human composting center admit abuse of corpses in the USA

Corpses were found in a state of decomposition. Some of them were people who had died in 2019. “The bodies were in disposable bags, wrapped in sheets and tape or displayed without any covering. Some were even stuffed in plastic bags. Many were lying on the floor, stacked on shelves, left on stretchers, stacked one on top of the other”, says an excerpt from the prosecutors’ complaint.

Funeral home sold ecological burial packages. The couple announced that the bodies would be buried in biodegradable coffins. Michael Allen, U.S. Attorney for Colorado’s 4th Judicial District, stated at a news conference that the Hallfords deceived grieving families and that “having someone violate that trust is something these people will likely never recover from.”

The Hallfords delivered concrete-mixed urns to families instead of the ashes of the deceased. The couple also sent the wrong bodies for burial in cemeteries, according to the indictment.

The pair were arrested in November 2023. During the hearing, held last Friday, they pleaded guilty to the charges. The Hallfords’ sentencing on the state charges is scheduled for April 18, 2025. They agreed to face sentences of 15 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in El Paso County Circuit Court to 191 felony counts of abuse of a corpse.

Criminals received more than US$130,000 (R$754,000) for services. The complaint states that instead of using money provided by the government or clients to bury or cremate the bodies, the couple spent thousands of dollars on travel, jewelry and Amazon items, according to the records.

Human composting is permitted in Colorado. Washington was the first state to legalize the composting of human remains in 2019, followed by Colorado and Oregon in 2021. The objective is to increase cemetery space and generate less environmental damage.