Relatives of Crematory Operator Arrested

The parents and sister of a crematory operator in rural Noble suspected of discarding more than 300 corpses rather than cremating them were arrested late Friday afternoon.

Authorities in LaFayette, Ga., said they had arrested Ray Marsh Sr., 75, his wife, Clara C. Marsh, 69, and their daughter, Rhames LaShea Marsh, 32, on felony charges of signing death certificates even though they were not licensed funeral home directors, as required by law. Ray Marsh was taken to jail in a wheelchair.

The couple’s son, Ray Brent Marsh, 28, remains jailed on 174 counts of theft by fraud for taking bodies for incineration and, instead, depositing them in vaults, sheds and elsewhere on crematory property in Noble, a small rural community in northwestern Georgia.

Some of the 339 corpses recovered were skeletal, others appeared mummified, and many were still draped in hospital garb with identifying toe tags.

Officials offered no comment about the latest arrests because the judge handling the crematory case has issued a gag order.

Friday’s arrests came on the same day that the Georgia state Senate, by unanimous vote, passed legislation making it a felony to discard bodies that were intended for cremation.

Lawmakers also closed administrative loopholes that had allowed Tri-State Crematory to go uninspected for years, and they allocated nearly $1 million for the recovery of the bodies.

“I am most appreciative of the way that the General Assembly has laid most other business aside so that it can focus on the tragedy here in Walker County,” said Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.

But the late-afternoon arrests of the senior Marshes and their daughter angered defense attorney McCracken “Ken” Poston, who represents Ray Brent Marsh and who said he will now also represent the other Marshes.

Poston said the arrests were based on papers that had been known to authorities for weeks. He criticized the late afternoon arrests as “Friday night specials.”

The three were taken to Walker County Jail after their arrests but were later released on bond.

“These are relatively minor charges, particularly with what they have charged my original client with,” Poston said.

The macabre case surrounding Tri-State Crematory began unfolding Feb. 15, when authorities found a skull on the property.

Investigators have uncovered 339 bodies that had been intended for cremation, and early next week they will excavate a shallow, three-acre lake that was drained this week.

Ray Brent Marsh, who took over the family-owned crematory in 1996, told detectives that he did not cremate the bodies because his incinerator was malfunctioning, although the manufacturer of the furnace found it operable.

People who believed their deceased relatives had been cremated have since discovered that treasured urns contained wood chips, concrete powder and other material. Authorities have identified 109 bodies but fear more than half will remain unidentified.

Among those who offered little sympathy for the family was James Marsh, brother of Ray Marsh Sr.

“If they were signing death certificates and they weren’t suppose to, then they were asking for trouble,” he said Friday.

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Times staff writer Tom Gorman contributed to this report.