Former Denver-area funeral home owner, Miles Harford, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the incident that involved storing human remains and cremains at a house he had rented.
The investigation into this case started in February 2024, and it was revealed by Denver authorities that the remains of a woman and the cremated remains of at least 30 other individuals were discovered at the residence on Quitman Street that Harford had rented. Shockingly, it was determined that the body of a 63-year-old woman, identified as Christina Rosales, had been left in a hearse in the driveway of the property for a period of 18 months.
Christina Rosales, who was Harford’s former middle school teacher, passed away due to Alzheimer’s. Prosecutors disclosed that Harford had provided the deceased woman’s family with the ashes of a different person, leading them to believe that Rosales had been cremated properly.
Harford pleaded guilty in April to charges of abusing a corpse and theft as part of a plea deal. He was facing a total of 12 counts of corpse abuse, forgery and theft, and pleaded guilty to two of them. The other 10 counts were dismissed.
As part of the plea deal, the judge required all victims to be named within the two charges Harford pleaded guilty to and said Harford would be liable for restitution on all counts, including those that were dismissed, according to The Associated Press.
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During his sentencing hearing on Monday, a judge told Harford that what happened at Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services was not just a business failure but a personal betrayal of families who trusted him in their time of grief. Harford was then sentenced to 18 months in prison, the maximum sentence for abuse of a corpse, which is a felony.
“Nothing will ever undo the terrible pain that Miles Harford caused so many families, but it is our hope that this sentence will provide the family and friends of the deceased with some measure of justice. Harford systematically and shockingly violated his professional and moral obligations, and, for that, he is now being held accountable,” Denver District Attorney John Walsh said. “Our condolences go out to all those who suffered as a result of Harford’s actions. Many thanks to the prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates in my office, as well as the detectives with the Denver Police Department’s Homicide and Fraud Units, whose work on the case brought about this successful outcome.”
Former Denver funeral director Miles Harford was sentenced today to 18 months in prison, the maximum sentence under Colorado law for the applicable charge. In April, Harford pleaded guilty to one felony count of abuse of a corpse and one misdemeanor count of theft. pic.twitter.com/kQcXBWrikO
— Denver DA’s Office (@DenverDAsOffice) June 9, 2025
In court, families recalled finding out Harford still had possession of their loved one’s cremated remains, despite burying cremains they believed were their loved one’s. Rosales’ family called Harford’s sentence justice.
“It was nice that he got the maximum sentence. It’s to prevent this from happening again, and that’s basically why I’m here,” said George Rosales, Christina’s husband. “I wanted this outcome, and we’re happy, but I just wish nobody would have to go through this because it does wreck your emotions.”
