A Littleton funeral director who allegedly scammed dozens of Colorado families as they grieved a loved one is facing three new abuse-of-corpse charges, in addition to multiple theft counts. 

Miles Harford, 34, the former owner of Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services, faces 11 counts in all for incidents which happened over a nearly five-year period from spring of 2019 until Feb. 2024. 

Two of the four new theft charges specify that they were done to an at-risk victim. Some of the counts occurred as early as May 2019 and others started in August 2023 — six months before police discovered a body and cremains on the property of a house he rented.

Englewood police arrested Harford Feb. 27 weeks after a bizarre series of events that shocked Denver’s Front Range and sent some of Apollo’s customers in a tailspin. That’s when the Denver Medical Examiner’s Office and the city’s police department received a call about a “suspicious occurrence” at a house in a residential area of southwest Denver.

Authorities said the property owner had noticed boxes while cleaning the house after a tenant had been evicted.

Inside the boxes, which were stuffed in a dark basement crawlspace, were the cremated remains of 30 people.

An already disturbing situation got even worse when investigators called to the home made the unexpected discovery of Christina Rosales’ body in the back seat of Harford’s hearse. The long white vehicle was parked in a side driveway at his Denver home. Neighbors say his mother was trying to start the disabled vehicle and gave up when the engine wouldn’t turn over.

Harford was not at the home when the discoveries were made.

Investigators allege Harford allegedly supplied Rosales’ family with ashes of someone else and assured them that they were hers.

Employers and neighbors told The Denver Gazette that Harford drove the hearse with Rosales’ body around town as his business spiraled downward. He has never explained why the remains was stored there, but his next door neighbors said that he warned them that they may smell “death” because it was used to transport bodies in his line of work. They said that they never suspected that there was a body inside.

Harford appeared for Monday’s arraignment hearing via video conference, dressed in a three-piece suit.

Besides the original abuse-of-a-corpse charge, he was already facing forgery and theft allegations.

Monday’s continued arraignment was the fifth delay as Denver police build their case against him. He was released on a personal recognizance bond soon after he was arrested. If he fails to meet any of the conditions set for his release, he must post $50,000 bail, according to the Denver District Attorney’s office.

At an arraignment, a defendant typically pleads not-guilty and a trial date is set, or sometimes pleads guilty in accordance with a plea agreement. 

“She gave him free lunch”

Christina Rosales’s twin sister, Cathy Vorndran, said waiting for Harford’s case to move forward has been excruciating for her family.

“I’m so tired of this,” she said. “All you can do is take a deep breath and say okay here we go again.”

She noted that Rosales, who was the head cook at the Sheridan School District 2 for three decades, died on Aug. 31, 2022, of natural causes after a long bout with Alzheimer’s. Police believe her body was inside that hearse for a year-and-a-half. She said that when Harford was a middle school student, he actually worked for Rosales washing dishes.

“She gave him free lunch,” said Vorndran. 

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said the original theft and forgery charges are in connection with the Rosales’ alleged false death certificate and the amount of money that Harford obtained from the family in “guaranteeing that he would then perform a cremation of the body, which we allege he did not do.” 

Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services has been closed since September of 2022. The property owner of the former funeral home said there were no remains or suspicious materials in the building, according to investigators.

Harford’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2025.

Since Rosales’ body was discovered underneath a blanket in Harford’s hearse Feb. 6, her family has given her a proper memorial and cremation. Cathy Vorndran said her sister’s ashes are now in a royal blue urn, her favorite color. She wants to see Harford pay for what he allegedly did.

The sooner the better.

“That’s the way my sister would want it,” said Vorndran. Rosales had a daughter, who still struggles with the disrespectful way she was treated. “She would say ‘Let’s get the facts, get it over with and give me peace.'”