18 decomposing bodies found at Georgia funeral home; owner charged with corpse abuse
The owner of a southern Georgia funeral home has been arrested and charged with the abuse of more than a dozen corpses.
Chris Johnson, 39, was taken into custody Monday, a couple of days after Coffee County deputies found 18 bodies in various stages of decomposition while serving an eviction notice at the Johnson Funeral Home in Douglas, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The bureau was called in to assist local law enforcement with the investigation, which began over the weekend. Johnson was charged with 17 counts of abuse of a body, and more charged were expected as the investigation proceeds.
Johnson was denied bond and remains in a county jail, the local news outlet Douglas Now reported.
The funeral home didn't return a call for comment, and Paste BN couldn't immediately identify whether Johnson has an attorney.
Bodies found at Georgia funeral home were there for months, reports say
Douglas Now reported that Johnson, who ran for county coroner earlier this year and lost, was relocating his business to a new building downtown when the bodies were discovered. The funeral home had been operating out of its original facility in the meantime.
Officers found a dead dog and a dead cat as they recovered decomposed remains that had been there for months, according to Douglas Now. The local newspaper also reported that one of the human bodies was a child's.
Local authorities were working to identify the deceased and notify families, Douglas Now reported.
“My priority is to get the bodies properly identified and make the notifications to the family. Please bear with us. We’re working as diligently as we can," Coffee County Coroner Brandon Musgrove shared with WALB-TV.
The news of pending charges against Johnson came as a complete surprise to some, while others expressed their frustration with the lack of communication and care from the funeral home owner as they lay their loved ones to rest.
"We still have not yet received a death certificate that I paid for, in full, to Chris Johnson,” Sherri Thomas told WALB-TV. “I have called probably over 50-60 times, and he has not once returned my phone call. And I just wonder with all these bodies, is that even my mama’s body in this urn.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office at (912) 384-4227 or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at (912) 389-4103. Anonymous tips may also be submitted online, via the "See Something, Send Something" mobile app, or by phone at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477).
Colorado funeral home ordered to pay up over negligence
Meanwhile in Colorado in August, funeral home owners Jon and Carie Hallford were ordered to make a nearly $1 billion payout to 125 people who sued the business for failing to cremate or bury at least 190 bodies they were paid to handle since at least 2019.
Families filed a class-action lawsuit against the couple, who owned and ran Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, after the grisly discoveries shocked the nation.
The couple pleaded guilty last week to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. They face up to 20 years in prison when they are sentenced.
Relatives of the deceased were "horrified" by the Hallford's negligence since some of them received what they thought were cremated remains of their loved ones. The payout is intended to ensure that if the Hallfords have jobs in the future, families could petition for their earnings, Andrew Swan, an attorney representing the victims, previously shared with Paste BN.
"The odds of the Hallfords ever complying with the judgment are slim. The purpose wasn't to get money, but to hold them accountable for what they did," Swan said.
Contributing: Vanessa Countryman; Savannah Morning News and Kystal Nurse; Paste BN