Funeral home owner kept body in hearse for nearly 2 years, CO cops say. He’s arrested

A former funeral home owner has been arrested after an eviction uncovered the remains of at least 30 people, along with a woman’s corpse that had been kept in a hearse for nearly two years, Colorado police say.

Miles Harford, 33, was arrested late Thursday, Feb. 22, after a warrant for his arrest was issued the week prior, the Denver Police Department said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It’s been difficult for the investigative team not only because of the complexity of the case, but also the concern and sensitivity for the families who have been impacted,” Commander Matt Clark said during a Feb. 16 news conference announcing the warrant for Harford’s arrest.

Clark said a Denver sheriff’s deputy stood by as a homeowner removed Harford’s things from the Denver home during an eviction on Feb. 6.

In doing so, the homeowner found “several boxes in the crawlspace,” which turned out to be “temporary urn boxes” that held cremated human remains, or cremains, Clark said.

Denver police and medical examiner investigators responded to the home to help recover the boxes, Clark said.

They found nearly three dozen urn boxes, “some of which were empty,” Clark said.

The homeowners also found “an inoperable hearse” in the backyard, Clark said.

While searching the hearse for additional urns, detectives found the body of a dead woman “who was covered with a blanket” in the back, Clark said.

It was later determined the 63-year-old woman died in August 2022 and that her family believed they had already received her remains, according to Clark.

Clark said the woman’s body had been in the hearse since shortly after death until its recent discovery.

Then, while searching a U-Haul parked in the front of the home, investigators found six more urns with remains, according to Clark.

“All the recovered cremains appear to be associated with individuals who passed away between 2012 and 2021,” Clark said. “At this point, we believe we have recovered the remains of at least 30 individuals.”

Harford ran his Littleton business, Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services, from 2012 to September 2022, according to Clark and a news release.

During this time, Clark said Harford began to run into financial troubles.

There were times when Clark could not complete the cremations in time for services, Clark said.

“Unbeknownst to families … Mr. Harford may have occasionally provided family members with another person’s cremated remains in lieu of their family members’ remains so services could be held,” Clark said.

Investigators are now “cross referencing information from tags and labels that were found with the cremains” and reaching out to families, Clark said.

“As you can imagine, these are extremely difficult conversations to have,” Clark said.

Harford was arrested on charges, including abuse of a corpse, forgery and theft, related to the woman’s body discovered in the back of the hearse, Clark said.

Additional charges are forthcoming, Clark said.

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