‘The whole thing is disgusting’: Rotting bodies found in Ga. funeral home
DOUGLAS, Ga. - A man is facing multiple criminal charges following a disturbing discovery at the funeral home he operated in Coffee County.
Chris Johnson, 39, who operated Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services, is facing 17 counts of abuse of a dead body, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office provides istrative for the state funeral board.
“It’s obviously a terrible case,” said Gabe Sterling, chief operating officer of the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. “His license lapsed for a period of time this year and then he reinstated his funeral director’s license and his embalmer’s license. The facility license was still not renewed.”
The GBI said Coffee County deputies discovered 18 bodies in various stages of decomposition while serving an eviction notice at the business a couple of days ago.
“The whole thing is disgusting,” said Angela Howell, a Coffee County resident. “I hate the thought of my dad being there, and I pray he’s not and wasn’t. But if he was, I’d rather it be him than a child.”
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Howell lives near Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services and is unsure if her loved one has been impacted.
“He seemed like such a good person when we first met him,” Howell said.
Those who have used Johnson’s services said he was nearly impossible to throughout the entire process.
“We still have not yet received a death certificate that I paid for, in full, to Chris Johnson,” said Sherri Thomas, another Douglas resident. “I have called probably over 50 to 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?”
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Others had to threaten him with legal action in order to finally receive the death certificates of their loved ones.
“I came out here many mornings. He was here, his vehicle in the back, but he wouldn’t come to the door when you called him on the phone. I told him I was going to get a lawyer involved. Then he finally got the death certificates back to me, almost after a year,” Janell, a Douglas resident, said.
When asked about his message to the community, Coffee County Coroner Brandon Musgrove said, “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.”
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