CLEVELAND, Tenn. - A former crematory operator from Georgia who admitted dumping 334 bodies and passing off cement dust as their ashes pleaded guilty Friday to charges in Tennessee.
A judge sentenced 31-year-old Ray Brent Marsh to 12 years in prison.
Marsh listened to a series of statements from Tennessee relatives of those whose bodies were mishandled at his Tri-State Crematory in northwest Georgia and then apologized.
Circuit Judge Carroll Ross said in handing down the sentence that Marsh could be eligible for parole in four years.
The sentencing was part of an agreement between officials in Tennessee and Georgia, where Marsh pleaded guilty in November to 787 counts of theft, abuse of a corpse, burial service fraud and making false statements.
Defense attorney Ken Poston says the deal calls for the Tennessee sentence to be served concurrently with the same recommended sentence in Georgia followed by a lengthy probation.
Marsh will be returned to Walker County in Georgia.
He faces sentencing there on January 31st. Marsh can withdraw his plea if Judge James Bodiford does NOT approve the sentence agreed to by defense lawyers and prosecutors.
Thursday
May 15th, 2025
1:35AM
