DENVER (AP) — A Colorado judge on Monday rejected the plea deal of a funeral home owner accused of stashing nearly 190 decaying bodies in a bug-infested building after family members of the deceased argued that the deal's 15- to 20-year sentence was too lenient.

"The sentence negotiated by the parties does not adequately account for the harms that these crimes have caused,” said State District Judge Eric Bentley, describing his rare decision to forego an agreement made by the prosecution and defense.

Carie Hallford and her husband, Jon Hallford , owned Return to Nature Funeral Home and are accused of dumping the bodies in a building in a rural town between 2019 and 2023, giving families fake ashes and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 .

Jon and Carie Hallf

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