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02-26-2002, 08:35 PM
Crematory Operator Faces More Charges
By ERIN McCLAM
Associated Press Writer
LaFAYETTE, Ga. (AP)--Authorities filed another 102 criminal charges Tuesday against the operator of a crematory where hundreds of corpses have been discovered.
Ray Brent Marsh already faced 16 counts of theft by deception for allegedly taking money for cremations he never performed at Tri-State Crematory.
The 102 theft by deception charges were filed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and issued in a warrant by Walker County Magistrate Judge Shelia Thompson.
The new counts were connected to 51 of the corpses found at Tri-State. For each body, one count was filed for taking money from the families and another for failing to give the ashes to the families, officials said.
So far, 339 corpses have been found on the crematory grounds, including eight found in a pit on Tuesday. Only 74 of the bodies have been identified.
Marsh's wife and sister visited him at the county jail Tuesday. Neither spoke to reporters. Marsh's attorney, Ken Poston, also refused to comment.
Gov. Roy Barnes was notified Tuesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will not give the state money for clean-up. FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh said ``an emergency declaration is neither appropriate nor warranted.''
Barnes has 30 days to appeal to President Bush.
Officials have said they cannot estimate the cost of the clean-up until all the bodies have been recovered, but believe it will surpass $10 million.
Also on Tuesday, the House unanimously voted to make it a felony to abandon a body intended for cremation or burial. The bill now goes to the Senate.
The latest charges against Marsh were filed just hours after a separate judge ruled Marsh could leave jail on $100,000 bond on the original 16 theft charges.
The new counts prevent his release from jail until a new hearing can be set, District Attorney Buzz Franklin said.
Meanwhile, recovery workers spent their 12th day clear-cutting the 16-acre crematory grounds.
Authorities have said it could be late summer before all the bodies are identified. Some workers are growing weary and occasionally sick as the emotional toll mounts.
``Everybody involved in this process, from the word go, is suffering some kind of emotional strain,'' said David Ashburn, the Walker County emergency director. ``It's things that you and I were never meant to be exposed to.''
Officials estimated they had searched only three or four acres of the Tri-State grounds, which comprise at least eight acres, excluding buildings and a small lake. Authorities are working on a plan to drain the lake.
Family members lined up Monday to give blood samples, hoping their DNA would help investigators identify more bodies.
Donating blood meant fresh grief for Elaine Bray of Chattanooga, Tenn., who arrived at the civic center down the road from Tri-State with a mug of small pebbles--part of which she thought were the remains of her brother, who died four years ago.
``All I wanted to do is give him a proper death,'' she said. ``This is what I got.''
Eddie Young of Crystal River, Fla., said he hoped DNA testing might tell him whether the body of his mother, who died in November, was left to decompose on the grounds of the crematory.
``I know her soul went to heaven, but to think that my mother might be out there--it's so hard to accept,'' he said. ``We had our closure through the funeral, and now it's like it's reopened.''
More info. can be found at www.ajc.com or www.wsbtv.com
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Here's what I don't understand. There's a church next door and people live in the neighborhood. Didn't they smell something foul? I mean 300+ bodies gotta smell pretty bad.
The second thing is, did these folks really think they'd get away with this forever. I mean, the majority of the bodies were just laying in the back of the building. Somebody was gonna see something.
By ERIN McCLAM
Associated Press Writer
LaFAYETTE, Ga. (AP)--Authorities filed another 102 criminal charges Tuesday against the operator of a crematory where hundreds of corpses have been discovered.
Ray Brent Marsh already faced 16 counts of theft by deception for allegedly taking money for cremations he never performed at Tri-State Crematory.
The 102 theft by deception charges were filed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and issued in a warrant by Walker County Magistrate Judge Shelia Thompson.
The new counts were connected to 51 of the corpses found at Tri-State. For each body, one count was filed for taking money from the families and another for failing to give the ashes to the families, officials said.
So far, 339 corpses have been found on the crematory grounds, including eight found in a pit on Tuesday. Only 74 of the bodies have been identified.
Marsh's wife and sister visited him at the county jail Tuesday. Neither spoke to reporters. Marsh's attorney, Ken Poston, also refused to comment.
Gov. Roy Barnes was notified Tuesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will not give the state money for clean-up. FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh said ``an emergency declaration is neither appropriate nor warranted.''
Barnes has 30 days to appeal to President Bush.
Officials have said they cannot estimate the cost of the clean-up until all the bodies have been recovered, but believe it will surpass $10 million.
Also on Tuesday, the House unanimously voted to make it a felony to abandon a body intended for cremation or burial. The bill now goes to the Senate.
The latest charges against Marsh were filed just hours after a separate judge ruled Marsh could leave jail on $100,000 bond on the original 16 theft charges.
The new counts prevent his release from jail until a new hearing can be set, District Attorney Buzz Franklin said.
Meanwhile, recovery workers spent their 12th day clear-cutting the 16-acre crematory grounds.
Authorities have said it could be late summer before all the bodies are identified. Some workers are growing weary and occasionally sick as the emotional toll mounts.
``Everybody involved in this process, from the word go, is suffering some kind of emotional strain,'' said David Ashburn, the Walker County emergency director. ``It's things that you and I were never meant to be exposed to.''
Officials estimated they had searched only three or four acres of the Tri-State grounds, which comprise at least eight acres, excluding buildings and a small lake. Authorities are working on a plan to drain the lake.
Family members lined up Monday to give blood samples, hoping their DNA would help investigators identify more bodies.
Donating blood meant fresh grief for Elaine Bray of Chattanooga, Tenn., who arrived at the civic center down the road from Tri-State with a mug of small pebbles--part of which she thought were the remains of her brother, who died four years ago.
``All I wanted to do is give him a proper death,'' she said. ``This is what I got.''
Eddie Young of Crystal River, Fla., said he hoped DNA testing might tell him whether the body of his mother, who died in November, was left to decompose on the grounds of the crematory.
``I know her soul went to heaven, but to think that my mother might be out there--it's so hard to accept,'' he said. ``We had our closure through the funeral, and now it's like it's reopened.''
More info. can be found at www.ajc.com or www.wsbtv.com
***********************
Here's what I don't understand. There's a church next door and people live in the neighborhood. Didn't they smell something foul? I mean 300+ bodies gotta smell pretty bad.
The second thing is, did these folks really think they'd get away with this forever. I mean, the majority of the bodies were just laying in the back of the building. Somebody was gonna see something.