Body count at northwest Georgia crematory tops 300

NOBLE - The body count at a north Georgia crematory surpassed 300 Saturday, a week after officials began to search in earnest for discarded corpses. <br> <br> As of Saturday evening, 301 corpses had been recovered on a 16-acre lot around Tri-State Crematory, Walker County Emergency Director David Ashburn told a news conference. Of those, 61 have been identified and about 35 returned to families, he said. <br> <br> A small lake on the property, in which a human torso and a skull were found, will be drained, but not until the rest of the wooded property has been cleared and searched, Ashburn said. Officials plan to meet again Wednesday to determine how best to drain the pond. <br> <br> Ray Brent Marsh, the 28-year-old operator of Tri-State, was in the Walker County Jail on 16 counts of theft by deception for allegedly accepting payment for cremations he did not perform. <br> <br> At a bond hearing Friday, Magistrate Jerry Day said he would rule early this week whether Marsh should be granted bond. Prosecutors argued that Marsh, who has been the object of community outrage and several death threats, could be in danger if he is released. <br> <br> Marsh took over the business in 1996 from his parents, Ray and Clara Marsh, who had operated it for about 25 years. <br> <br> Marsh told investigators the crematory&#39;s incinerator wasn&#39;t working, which is why he had stacked bodies in outbuildings and buried them in the woods. Authorities said some of the bodies had been delivered as recently as 10 days ago while others appear to have been dumped 15 or more years ago. <br> <br> No other members of the Marsh family have been charged, but authorities have said they are interviewing family and friends, as well as people who may have worked at the crematory. <br> <br> Information about the investigation has been scant since Thursday when Superior Court Judge William Ralph Hill issued a gag order covering nearly everyone connected with the case. Several news organizations have filed appeals, hoping to overturn the gag order or at least to limit its scope.