A once-popular Colorado funeral home director, wearing a toothy grin in his official portrait, was hiding a dark secret, and prosecutors are now charging him with mishandling his client’s corpses and stealing their money.
Miles Harford, 34, was arrested in February after investigators found the body of 63-year-old Christine Rosales in a hearse he allegedly kept outside his Denver rental home for two years.
Agents also found the cremated remains of at least 30 people who died between 2012 and 2021 after the property owner noticed boxes in a crawl space while cleaning out the house after Harford was evicted.
He was originally charged with abuse of a corpse, forgery of the death certificate and theft of the money paid for Rosales’ cremation, and disappeared shortly after the discovery.
But when Harford finally appeared in court for his arraignment on Monday, he faced seven new charges, including two counts of stealing from an at-risk victim, two counts of theft and three counts of assaulting a corpse “in a manner that would outrage the normal sensibilities of the family’ according to the Denver Post.
Each new count relates to an individual victim, 9News items.
Miles Harford, 34, hid a dark secret while driving around in a hearse with a corpse for years
The remains were those of 63-year-old Christine Rosales (photo)
Apparently he had told his neighbors that they would be able to smell the “death” coming from the vehicle because he was using it to transport bodies.
Harford operated Apollo Funeral & Cremation Services in the suburb of Littleton, which performed cremations for those on a budget and those whose next of kin were unknown.
But he had apparently had financial difficulties in his business and was sometimes unable to complete cremations to provide remains to families for services.
As a result, police said he may have given family members someone else’s ashes instead of the remains of their loved ones.
He also reportedly rode around in the hearse with Rosales’ body inside for years as his business went into a tailspin. reports the Denver Gazette.
Harford never explained why the remains were kept in the hearse, but his neighbor told the outlet that Harford warned them they might smell “death” coming from the vehicle he said he used to transport bodies.
He also reportedly rode around in the hearse with Rosales’ body inside for years as his business went into a tailspin. reports the Denver Gazette.
He never explained why the remains were kept in the house, but his neighbor told the outlet that Harford warned them they might smell “death” coming from the vehicle he said he used to transport bodies.
Rosales’ body was finally discovered on February 6, during Harford’s court-ordered eviction.
The beaming former funeral home director was hit with additional charges Monday
Her family has since given her a fitting memorial and cremation, the Post said.
They said she was the head cook at Sheridan School District 2 for 30 years before dying of natural causes in August 2022.
Rosales’ twin sister, Cathy Vorndran, even said that when Harford was in high school, he worked for Rosales washing dishes.
“She gave him a free lunch,” Vordran said.
Authorities have now identified at least 18 of the cremated remains and accuse him of stealing at least $500 from the victims, including Don Campbell and Tom Simpleman, who contacted the funeral home director to arrange pre-paid cremation services arrangements so that their children would not do so. to cope with the burden when they passed away.
The couple claimed Harford came to their home in the summer of 2023 — months after his business officially closed — and they paid him just under $3,000.
“I was kind of relieved when I heard that something was going to happen and that our name… wasn’t among all the names and this huge pile,” Simpleman told 9News after learning about the additional costs.
“We have always worked hard to ensure that no one takes advantage of us, especially because they like to take advantage of old people,” he said.
‘We have tried very hard to be careful with that, but people are being taken along.’
He added that he and Don have been looking for someone to redo their cremation plans, but have not yet made any new commitments.
“I’d like to see him go to jail,” Simpleman said of Harford, “and we’d like to get our money back.”
Victims Don Campbell and Tom Simpleman told how they paid Harford nearly $3,000 to arrange their cremations
Another alleged victim, Rich Schneider, said in 2017 that he paid Harford $1,200 in advance for his cremation.
He said he believed the money would be held in a trust until it was time for the service, and years later in 2021 — after becoming the primary caregiver for his friend’s mother, Nancy Kloverstrum — he approached Harford again for same service.
Schneider said that at the time, Harford conducted all business online, but provided a similar contract to the one he received, and paid Kloverstrum about $1,300.
But after Harford was arrested earlier this year, Schneider visited the bank where Harford told him the trust was being held – and discovered the bank had no records of his accounts.
“Not only am I losing my money (and) worrying about my peace of mind, but Nancy has no plan at this time to take care of her if something happens to her,” he said.
“I’m really not a horrible, vindictive guy – I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, but I really don’t know if there’s anything he can do to make this right,” Schneider added of Harford.
According to the Gazette, the former funeral home director was released on his own recognizance shortly after his arrest in February.
He is now due to appear in court again on January 17.
In the meantime, if he fails to comply with the conditions of his release, he will have to post a $50,000 bond.