A funeral service inspection report from the Georgia State Board of Funeral Service gave Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services in Douglas a passing inspection on July 19, 2024, despite the fact that owner Chris Johnson did not hold current funeral director, embalmer, and establishment licenses – all three of which are required for individuals in Georgia to own/operate funeral homes, prepare bodies for burial, and conduct funerals.
Sunday afternoon, Johnson was arrested and charged with 18 counts of abusing a dead body after 18 decomposing bodies were found in the funeral home when the landlord served an eviction notice on Saturday morning. Johnson has been denied bond and remains in jail.
His licenses lapsed on June 30, 2024. Johnson eventually renewed his embalmers and funeral director licenses in September. However, his establishment license, which is required to operate a funeral home, has not been renewed.
In spite of being out of compliance, an inspector from the Georgia State Board of Funeral Service, which falls under the Secretary of State’s office, inspected the funeral home in July and gave the funeral home a passing grade. The inspection report shows Johnson was not given any fines. In the comments section on the form, it reads “Inspection result: Pass.”
DouglasNow reached out to several people who are knowledgeable regarding funeral home inspections and compliance. All stated that in their opinions, the inspector who visited the funeral home in July should have taken a more aggressive approach given that all three of Johnson’s licenses had lapsed. Tuesday morning, DouglasNow reached out to the State Board of Funeral Service through the Secretary of State’s web site and has yet to receive a reply.
“I can tell you this – the impact of this incident could have been lessened if the licensing board had done its job,” said one funeral director who spoke to DouglasNow on the condition of anonymity.
The Johnson case bears some striking similarities to the Tri-State Crematory incident that took place in Walker County in 2002. In that case, investigators found 334 bodies on the crematory’s property that were supposed to have been cremated but were not. Ray Brent Marsh, the crematory’s owner, was charged with two counts of theft by deception for each body. Facing a potential life sentence, Marsh eventually entered a guilty plea and served 12 years in prison.
In the aftermath of the Tri-State case, the state re-visited its laws regarding the deceased and assigned more serious penalties for abusing/neglecting the dead. As a result, Johnson’s charges are all felonies. More charges will likely follow.