Woman who thought her son had been cremated discovers FOUR YEARS later that his body had been left to decay in 'broken fridge' at funeral home where 190 other corpses were found

A woman has shared how her grief has been prolonged after discovering her dead son had not been cremated like she thought - but was decaying in a broken fridge.

Crystina Page lost son David Jaxon Page when he was just 20 after he was killed during an officer-involved shooting while in mental health crisis in 2019.

In a first person piece for Newsweek, Crystina explained she used the Return To Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs to cremate her son, having been given the brochure when police came to do the official notification and interrogation after his death.

A few days later, the grieving mom was asked to identify her son but was then told her son had already been cremated - however, years later she discovered that was not the case. 

Crystina Page lost son David Jaxon Page (pictured when he was a child) when he was just 20 after he was killed during an officer-involved shooting while in mental health crisis in 2019

A few days later, the grieving mom was asked to identify her son but was then told her son (pictured when he was a child) had already been cremated - however, years later she discovered that was not the case 

'For four years, I mourned my son and fought for him in a homicide case against the police, thinking he had been laid to rest shortly after his death,' she explained to Newsweek.

On October 24, 2023, Crystina got a call from the FBI saying her son had been identified as one of the 190 bodies found at the Return To Nature Funeral Home in the Rocky Mountain town of Penrose.

The funeral home, run by couple Jon and Carrie Hallford, was accused of abandoning dozens of bodies, spending money taken from families on vehicles, crypto and lavish dinners. 

'It was completely devastating,' she anguished. 'I don't know how to explain what it feels like - to know that not only was my son taken away, but his body was desecrated. Most people can't wrap their minds around the gravity of it.'

According to Crystina, when the FBI first notified her of the situation, she was told her son's body was left naked and exposed. 

'He didn't even have a body bag. He wasn't wrapped in a sheet. There was no dignity to this at all,' she recalled sadly.

The mom said in court that she found out her son's body was likely being kept in Room L, which was where most of the older bodies were - and it had an inoperable refrigeration system. 

'By inoperable, I mean we have seen no evidence these refrigerators ever worked,' she wrote.

On October 24, 2023, Crystina got a call from the FBI saying her son had been identified as one of the 190 bodies found at the Return To Nature Funeral Home in the Rocky Mountain town of Penrose

According to Crystina, when FBI first notified her of the situation, she was told me her son's body was left naked and exposed

The mom (pictured with her son) said in court that she found out her son's body was likely being kept in Room L, which was where most of the older bodies were - and it had an inoperable refrigeration system

'There were rats and maggots and eight inches of fluid throughout the entire building, and 190 bodies were found in a similar condition,' she added.

Crystina, who said she was having 'night terrors' of bugs and rats eating her son's face and 'bodies stacked on top of each other skin-to-skin,' was then shown photos of the room.

'Seeing those photographs allowed me to understand the reality of the situation,' she admitted. 'I realized that most of the bodies there were not left in that condition - a lot were in body bags, or had sheets wrapped around them.'

Although Crystina was 'comforted' knowing the bodies weren't in the putrid condition she thought, it was still horrific to see.

She added that shockingly, she is considered a 'lucky one,' because there are still 948 people missing with their bodies not identified or accounted for. 

When Crystina first got the notification, she went to social media to find out if there was a support group for other families suffering like hers. 

'I work with people in mental health crisis. I knew that if I was having such a difficult time, then people who had not gone through trauma or who weren't used to dealing with these kinds of things would have an even tougher time,' she pointed out.

Crystina said she reached out to some of the support groups, wanting to offer the right information to the families, community, and industry experts affected. 

'There are hundreds of us. It helped us build an infrastructure of support where, in a situation like this, there really isn't any,' she explained. 'We have no avenue of support. Things like this don't happen, so there's nothing in place for when it does.'

'For example, it took until February 1, 2024, for the first financial victims' compensation checks to be issued,' she explained. 'This case isn't about money, but all of us had necessary expenses.'

Crystina said they still have no idea what motivated the couple to neglect the bodies and lie, with the grieving mom saying she doesn't believe it was financially motivated - despite them misspending nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds to splurge on items such as two vehicles worth $120,000.

The funeral home (pictured in April 2024) was run by couple Jon and Carrie Hallford, was accused of abandoning 190 bodies, spending money taken from families on vehicles, crypto and lavish dinners

Jon and Carie Hallford (pictured previously outside their funeral home) also collected more than $130,000 from families for cremations and burial services they never provided, the federal indictment stated

Jon (left) and Carie Hallford (right) were indicted on federal charges that they misspent nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds on vacations, cosmetic surgery, jewelry and other personal expenses, according to court documents unsealed Monday

Crystina says knowing Carie Hallford is a mother herself evokes 'absolute disbelief and anger and hatred' toward her.  

'I know of one family member told her daughter was cleared and cremated, but who has concrete in the urn rather than her child's ashes,' she wrote.

'She was meeting with customers, signing contracts, taking our money,' she wrote. 'Carie was reassuring us with a smile and a hug that she would take care of our dead in a way that gave them dignity and respect.'

Crystina added that she had been carrying human remains around for four years thinking it was her son only to find out that he had been in the funeral home the whole time.

'Whoever's cremated remains I carried, I will never know,' she wrote mournfully.

The owners of the Colorado Funeral Home, Jon and Carie Hallford face 15 charges brought by the federal grand jury, in addition to over 200 criminal counts already pending against the them in Colorado state court for corpse abuse, money laundering, theft and forgery.

The couple also collected more than $130,000 from families for cremations and burial services they never provided, the indictment said.

The federal offenses carry potential penalties of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, the indictment said.

The Hallfords' first court appearance in Colorado Springs is expected in early June. A jury trial is tentatively set for October.