New Vaults Opened at Ga. Crematory

Yahoo.com Feb 20, 2002

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By PATRICIA M. LaHAY, Associated Press Writer

NOBLE, Ga. (AP) - Authorities opened more vaults Wednesday at a crematory where corpses were left in piles to rot, and planned to drain a lake where a skull and torso were found. They said the number of bodies could reach 300.

The torso and skull were found in the water about 20 yards from the bank, Sheriff Steve Wilson said. Officials were testing the water for contamination and said draining would not begin for at least several days.

Meanwhile, searchers began opening six vaults in a shed at the Tri-State Crematory. Georgia Medical Examiner Dr. Kris Sperry said the six vaults could hold as many as 20 corpses each.

The full recovery effort at the crematory could take eight months, said Gary McConnell, director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

As of midday Wednesday, searchers had found 206 bodies, only 35 of which have been positively identified.

The operator of the crematory, 28-year-old Ray Brent Marsh, remained in jail, charged with 16 counts of theft by deception for allegedly taking payment for cremations he never performed. Marsh does not yet have an attorney.

Some law enforcement officials said Marsh may be safer in jail because so many people are outraged that their relatives' bodies were left in piles or in the woods.

Tom Shaw, who drove from St. Joseph, Mo., to this rural town near Chattanooga, Tenn., after his mother's body was found, said Marsh "deserves to be put to death and then thrown out in a barn."

"He's lucky I was so far away when I first found out, because I was hot," Shaw said at a candlelight vigil Tuesday night at a Baptist church in Chickamauga.

Families continued turning over medical records and ashes they were told belonged to their relatives to help officials identify their relatives.

But of the 130 sets of ashes turned over so far, one was filled with dirt, 15 were at least partly filled with concrete dust and others contained potting soil, Sperry said.

Two lawsuits alleging fraud have been filed against the crematory.

-- (cops@corpses.in copses), February 20, 2002

Answers

Ashes to ashes, dust to dissed

-- (bones@zombie.jamboree), February 20, 2002.

The Marsh’s are African Americans and most of the ‘deceased’ were white folks.

Can you just imagine if the ethnic orientations were swapped? We would be suffering through the Jesse, Al, and Johnny show.

-- So (cr@t.es), February 20, 2002.

The Marsh’s are African Americans and most of the ‘deceased’were a mixture of black and white...no racial connitations that have been noted. Only thing is old, backwoods, backwards kinda southern area where they just haven't caught up to the rest of the "Liberal" parts of the country. I understand the man is rather mentally challanged, perhaps even retarded, trying to continue to do the work he inherited.

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), February 21, 2002.

Well, here goes another resolution down the tubes. For some time now, I had disciplined myself to avoid answering any of Cherri’s postings……….who should willingly deal with her twisted line of reasoning? You would think that someone who is wired to the net for most of her waking hours could get the facts straight once in a while.

1). Cherri, who says that the ‘deceased’ were a mixture of black and white? Every TV interview, newspaper article, and Internet info site that I’ve seen or read has yet to show a ‘black’ family who’s loved ones were discarded like yesterday’s trash. Please provide some validation that refutes my claims.

2). Your comment regarding ‘backwoods’ and ‘haven’t caught up to the rest of the ‘Liberal’ parts of the country’ is hard to understand. Care to elaborate?

3). Who says this Marsh asshole is ‘mentally challenged, perhaps even retarded’? If he is then they need to just shoot this dog and chuck him into the lake, after it is drained of course.

The authorities have determined that many of these bodies have been there for up to 15 years. This 25-year-old Marsh kid took over the operation of this horror show about 6 years ago. Fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.

In the days to come, I predict the investigators will find that this crematorium has not been operational for most, if not all of this time. The gas records will tell the tale if not the mountain of bodies that will be found.

The 30 or so funeral homes that sent bodies to Tri-State will have the maximum exposer to the massive amounts of litigation that will surely be thrust upon them. The Marsh family would be best advised to disappear off the face of this planet if possible, before the angry hoards lynch their sorry asses.

-- So (cr@t.es), February 21, 2002.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/21/02 reports that some good ole politics might be involved, heah?

-- (lars@indy.net), February 22, 2002.

Cherri as always like a good liberal must find some OTHER reason why this black guy would do such a thing. This is a racial hate crime against whites pure and simple. This was done right in the middle of plantation country that used slaves heavily up until the end of the Civil War. This guy is just getting even for what took place 150 years. Hell they still want to get paid millions for what happened! It wouldn't surprise me a damn bit that the authorities will later find that some cremations DID take place but only on black folk. I don't give a shit what people think but this is one bad nigger that needs to be put on a slow boat back to Africa. If the tables were turned and this was a white guy, Atlanta would be pillaged and burned by nightfall.

-- Boswell (fundown@thefarm.net), February 22, 2002.