A landlord who went to serve an eviction notice at a southern Georgia funeral home on Saturday ended up finding corpses in various states of decomposition, according to police. Eighteen human bodies were discovered at Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services in Douglas, in addition to the bodies of a dog and cat, reports Douglas Now. The owner, Chris Johnson, 39, is now charged with 17 counts of abuse of a corpse. Some bodies had been at the facility for months, though one hadn't been there long enough to warrant charges, per Douglas Now. More than one body belonged to a child, per the Guardian.
"My priority is to get the bodies properly identified and make the notifications to the family," Coffee County Coroner Brandon Musgrove tells WALB. "Please bear with us. We're working as diligently as we can." Douglas Now reports "there have been rumblings of various issues" at the funeral home "for a long time." The facility license had expired and had not been renewed, an official with the Georgia Secretary of State's Office tells Atlanta News First. One resident tells WALB it took more than a year and threats of legal action to receive a death certificate from Johnson. Another resident says she has yet to receive the one she paid for. "I have called probably over 50-60 times, and he has not once returned my phone call," the woman says of Johnson.
The 39-year-old, who unsuccessfully ran for county coroner in May, was in the process of relocating his business to a downtown property. However, he allegedly continued to operate out of the funeral home's original location on US 441 without paying rent, the Guardian reports. A warrant accuses him of "knowingly and willfully" defacing a dead body, "intentional disregard of proper storage," and "willful negligence in his duties as a funeral home director," per the outlet. Arrested Sunday, Johnson remains in jail with bond denied. (More Georgia stories.)
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