Deceased woman's remains, cremated remains found at Denver home rented by former funeral home owner

DENVER — A woman’s remains and the cremains of possibly 30 other people were recovered from a Denver property previously rented by a former funeral home owner.

On Friday morning, the Denver Police Department (DPD) announced that it had issued an arrest warrant for Miles Harford, 33, for investigation of abuse of a corpse, forgery and theft. Police were recently in contact with Harford and are now working to arrest him. They said they believe he is in the Denver area.

This case began on the morning of Feb. 6, when the Denver Medical Examiner’s Office (OME) and DPD responded to a home along the 2500 block of S. Quitman Street after a caller had reported a suspicious occurrence. The person told police they had been cleaning the home after Harford, who had been renting the home, was evicted. While cleaning, the person located boxes of cremated remains, also called cremains. Deputies with the Denver Sheriff’s Department were already at the home for the eviction, and the person reported the discovery to them.

The OME and DPD were then called to the scene. Once they arrived, they began processing the scene, which included a hearse parked on the property. While examining the vehicle, investigators found the body of a deceased female and additional cremains, police said. The body was identified as a 63-year-old woman who had died of natural causes in August 2022. Police said they believe her body was kept in the hearse since her passing. The woman’s family was contacted, and they told police that Harford had previously given them what they believed were the cremains of their loved one. After this discovery, those cremains were provided to the OME.

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During the investigation, authorities learned that Harford had previously owned Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services in Littleton, which closed in September 2022.

As of this point in the investigation, OME said that it believes the cremains of “potentially 30 decedents” have been found and recovered.

Investigators are using state databases and labels on the outside of urns to identify the cremains and return them to the person’s loved ones.

Any clients of Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services who did not receive the cremains of their loved one, or had an irregular experience with Harford’s company, is asked to call the Denver Police Major Crimes Division and Denver Police Victim Assistance Unit at 720-913-6610. Tipsters can anonymously pass along information by calling Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP.

A press conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Friday. We will stream this live on Denver7.com.

DPD said there is no known connection between this case and the ongoing investigation into Return to Nature in Fremont County, in which court documents say nearly 200 decomposing bodies were found in a decrepit building.

Denver7 is working to learn more. This story will be updated.