Funeral Home Owner Collected Human Remains, Left a Corpse in a Hearse for Two Years [Horror IRL]
A former funeral home owner in Colorado has found himself in legal trouble after improperly stored human remains were found at his residence.
AP News reports that Miles Harford, the former owner of Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services, was evicted from his Denver home on February 6. Following that ordeal, authorities made a shocking discovery. Harford had the cremated remains of at least 30 people stored throughout his rental property. Remains were discovered in the home’s crawlspace, in a moving truck, and an out-of-commission hearse parked in the backyard. Authorities also discovered the remains of a 63-year-old woman in the hearse. Her remains were wrapped in blankets.
At a press conference, Denver Police Commander Matt Clark said the woman stored in the hearse had passed away in August of 2022. Clark went on to say: “Through the investigation, detectives have determined the woman’s remains have likely been stored and concealed in the hearse since shortly after her passing. The family previously received remains from the funeral home that they believed were their loved one.”
Clark revealed that Harford had outstanding debts with multiple crematories in the area, none of which were willing to work with him. Accordingly, he opted to store the woman’s remains in the hearse.
Has This Happened Before?
This isn’t the first time Colorado families have been duped by a funeral home. A similar story made headlines not long ago when the Return to Nature Funeral Home was caught with hundreds of decaying corpses around the premises.
At this point, the state of Colorado has recognized its role in this. Patty Salazar, the Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration executive director spoke at a recent House committee meeting and acknowledged the need for greater oversight and more stringent educational requirements for anyone operating a funeral home. Currently, Colorado law doesn’t require annual inspections and does not dictate that practitioners have a degree in mortuary science.
That’s all for this installment of Horror IRL. Be sure to stay tuned to the site for more true crime news as we uncover it.
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