A former funeral home owner in Colorado is facing charges after allegedly keeping a woman’s body in a hearse in his backyard for over a year and storing the remains of more than 30 cremated individuals. Miles Harford, 34, is being charged with forgery, abuse of a corpse, and theft, according to law enforcement officials.
The case was brought to light on February 6 when the Denver Medical Examiner’s Office and the Denver Police Department were alerted to a suspicious situation at a residence. The property owner had discovered boxes of cremated remains while cleaning the house after evicting Harford. The authorities were already present at the location for the eviction process.
During the investigation, a hearse was found on the property. Inside the vehicle, under blankets on a gurney, was the body of a deceased woman, still bearing a coroner’s tag. The body was identified as Christina Rosales, a 63-year-old woman who had died from Alzheimer’s disease in August 2022. It was revealed that her body had been hidden in the hearse since her death.
In addition to Rosales’ body, authorities discovered 35 sets of cremated remains of individuals who had passed away between 2012 and 2021 scattered throughout the property, including inside the hearse and in a crawlspace.
Rosales’ family had previously received what they believed to be her cremated remains from Harford, who owned the now-closed Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services. The family had chosen Harford due to his acquaintance with Rosales from the middle school where she worked and he had been a student.
Rosales’ husband, George, expressed his anger and grief over the situation, stating that his wife had trusted Harford and he had promised to take care of her. Rosales’ twin sister, Cathy Vorndran, also expressed her heartbreak over the situation, recalling how her sister had cared for Harford when he was a student.
This incident is not the first case of mismanagement and mistreatment of human remains in Colorado’s funeral home industry. Until this year, Colorado was the only state without licensure for directors and employees of the funeral industry. However, this has changed with the governor signing two bills into law.
Harford was initially scheduled for arraignment and to enter a plea on Friday. However, after a brief discussion between prosecutors, defense lawyers, and the judge, the hearing was rescheduled for December 9.