An El Paso County judge on Wednesday opted to bind over all 260 charges faced by Return to Nature Funeral Home owner, Carie Hallford. 

Hallford appeared in court last week for the beginning of her preliminary hearing, when prosecutors presented the bevy of evidence against her and her husband, fellow Return to Nature owner Jon Hallford. 

The Hallford family is facing over 200 felony charges stemming from the discovery of 189 improperly stored bodies at a building in Penrose connected to the Return to Nature Funeral Home. The charges include 190 counts of abuse of a corpse, 61 counts of forgery, four counts of theft and money laundering.

During the three-hour long hearing prosecutors reviewed the gruesome evidence photos of Return to Nature’s Penrose location, showing the haphazard way in which the Hallford family disposed of bodies in the location, and the horrific conditions of the building itself. 

“It looked like something you want to forget but can’t,” FBI Special Agent Andrew Cohen remarked at one point during his testimony at last week’s preliminary hearing. 

After hearing brief argument from the prosecution and defense attorneys on Wednesday, Judge William Moller choose to bind over all 260 charges faced by Carie Hallford, meaning she will have to face trial on all charges, barring a potential future plea deal. 

Prosecutor Rachael Powell informed the court at the end of Wednesday’s hearing that there have been no negotiations between the prosecution and defense thus far. 

Moller later in the hearing lowered Carie Hallford’s bond from $2 million to $100,000, mirroring Jon Hallford’s bond reduction earlier this month. 

Carie Hallford is scheduled to make her next appearance in court on March 21 for an arraignment hearing. Jon Hallford will make his next court appearance on Feb. 8 for his preliminary hearing.