A funeral residence proprietor in south Georgia has been arrested and accused of neglecting human corpses after authorities stated they discovered 18 our bodies in numerous phases of decomposition whereas serving an eviction discover on the enterprise.
Chris Lee Johnson, 39, of Douglas, has been charged with 17 counts of abuse of a useless physique, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation introduced in an announcement Monday.
The state’s main legislation enforcement company started investigating over the weekend after Espresso County sheriff’s deputies requested assist whereas finishing up an eviction course of.
Arrest warrants state that in a number of circumstances, Johnson disregarded the correct storage of our bodies, which resulted in “the serious disfigurement” of the deceased folks at Johnson Funeral & Cremation Companies in Douglas.
The GBI has been working with members of the family to be taught extra in regards to the deceased folks concerned and described it as a posh investigation. The investigation is constant, and extra costs are anticipated, the company stated in an announcement.
At a courtroom look Monday, a decide determined Johnson can be held in jail and never launched earlier than trial because of the severity of the costs and the expectation that extra costs might be filed, courtroom information present.
No lawyer for Johnson is listed in on-line courtroom filings. Johnson indicated in courtroom information that he didn’t want to have a public defender characterize him as he deliberate to rent his personal lawyer.
Johnson ran for Espresso County coroner earlier this yr however was defeated in a major in Might, The Atlanta Journal-Structure reported.
Douglas is a metropolis of almost 12,000 residents about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta.
Elsewhere, the homeowners of a Colorado funeral residence who had been accused of dishonest prospects and misspending almost $900,000 in pandemic aid funds, all whereas allegedly storing 190 decaying our bodies in a constructing, pleaded responsible final week to federal fraud costs.
Jon and Carie Hallford, homeowners of Return to Nature Funeral Residence south of Denver, every pleaded responsible Thursday to 1 rely of conspiracy to commit wire fraud beneath a plea settlement that also must be accredited by a decide. Greater than 200 prison counts are pending in opposition to them in Colorado state courtroom, together with allegations of corpse abuse.
