DENVER (AP) — The Colorado funeral home owner accused of leaving a woman's corpse in the back of a hearse for over a year and improperly stashing the cremated remains of at least 30 people pleaded guilty in court Monday to one count of corpse abuse and one count of theft.
Miles Harford's guilty plea in Denver follows years of other gruesome funeral home cases in Colorado, including one where the owners were accused of storing nearly 200 bodies in a decrepit building and giving families fake cremated remains.
Harford, 34, faced a dozen counts including forgery, theft and four counts of abuse of a corpse, which prosecutors described as treating bodies or remains “in a way that would outrage normal family sensibilities.”
The plea agreement dismisses the rest of the counts, but the judge said the agreement requires that all victims be named within the two charges Harford pleaded guilty to, and that he would be liable for restitution including for the dismissed counts.
Harford was arrested a year ago after the body of a woman named Christina Rosales, who died of Alzheimer's at age 63, was found in the back of a hearse, covered in blankets, along with cremated remains of other people stashed throughout Harford's rental property, including in the crawlspace.
Harford is represented by lawyers from the state public defender’s office, which does not comment on its cases to the media.
There were no other details in the court hearing on the charges, including how much money was taken from victims or how corpses were abused. In a press release, the district attorney said Harford faces up to 18 months in prison.
The funeral home cases over the years prompted lawmakers to pass sweeping new regulations of the funeral home industry in Colorado last year, which previously had little oversight.
The sentencing is scheduled for June 9.
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Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
