Twelve stays present in a south Georgia funeral house after its proprietor was arrested and charged with neglecting the corpses have been recognized, officers introduced Friday.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation remains to be attempting to determine one other six stays. The company can also be attempting to ensure officers despatched households the proper cremains and determine whether or not the ashes are literally human stays after issues that they may not be.
A press release from the bureau stated the timeframe of the investigation is unknown. “It’s advanced and requires many assets, akin to brokers, scientists, and intelligence analysts, in addition to coordination with different state businesses,” the assertion stated of the investigation. The assertion additionally stated the company has supplied households “with the mandatory info for them to finalize preparations for his or her family members.”
Deputies discovered 18 our bodies in varied levels of decomposition final month whereas serving an eviction discover at Johnson Funeral & Cremation Providers in Douglas, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta. The proprietor, Chris Lee Johnson, 39, was initially charged with 17 counts of abuse of a lifeless physique, in accordance the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
In accordance with arrest warrants, Johnson didn’t retailer the our bodies correctly, leading to “severe disfigurement.” A decide stated Johnson wouldn’t be launched from jail earlier than his trial as a result of severity of his expenses and since extra expenses may be filed. Johnson’s lawyer didn’t instantly reply to a cellphone name requesting remark.
Johnson’s funeral house handed an inspection by the secretary of state’s workplace although his funeral director, embalming, and institution licenses had expired, native information shops reported. The workplace had additionally obtained complaints about Johnson’s providers that haven’t been investigated. Households who used Johnson’s providers informed native information shops that they obtained ashes that will not have belonged to their kinfolk.
Johnson was first ordered to depart the constructing in Could due to unpaid hire however efficiently appealed after making $9,000 in overdue funds. The second eviction order got here after he missed hire funds for July and August.
