US: She was just walking her dog in the woods on Friday when she stumbled on a skull. Perturbed she called the police who asked Mr Brent Marsh (28) to walk them through the 16-acre site of his family business, Tri-State Crematory, in Noble, Georgia.
What emerged was more like the aftermath of a massacre in Bosnia than the backyard of a suburban business. Bodies and bones littered the woods. In outhouses they were stacked on top of each other. Some were part-buried, some weathered white skeletons, some decaying, some fresh, there just days, still dressed in impeccable funeral clothes. Others were mummified by age. An infant's body was found in a box in the back of a rusting hearse.
To date the police have found 85 and predict the number could run to hundreds, some dating back two decades.
Mr Marsh told police the crematorium had broken down years ago and he could not afford to mend it. Anxious not to disappoint, he simply never mentioned the fact, and now faces five counts of theft by deception.
The finds have horrified local families, bringing renewed grief to many for whom the pain of loss has barely subsided. The first body identified on Saturday was that of Mr Luther Mason who died on December 19th. His daughter- in-law, Ms Neva Mason, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I don't know which is worse, him dying or this."
Dr Kris Sperry of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it appears family members who received what they thought were ashes may have been given wood chips mixed with dirt and other material. The Walker County Coroner, Mr Dewayne Wilson, said: "The worst horror movie you've ever seen? Imagine that 10 times worse. That is what I'm dealing with."
Police said initially they believed the earliest bodies dated from 1996, when Mr Marsh took over the business from his ailing father, Mr Ray Marsh. But the discovery of mummified remains and long-rotted coffins extended the timeline. Dr Sperry said some of the coffins could have been there for 20 years.
Ms Sheila Horton, niece of Mr Ray Marsh, told the New York Times greed was to blame for the ghoulish scene. "His wife and son just didn't want to spend the money to fix it up," said Mrs Horton. "Lord Jesus, I don't know how they could go to bed at night with all that outside their window."
The Rev William Howard Stamper of New Home Missionary Baptist Church, Noble, said he talked to Mr Marsh on Saturday morning. "All he asked for was prayer," Mr Stamper said. "He was very low down." Mr Marsh is the church treasurer and attends Bible class, Mr Stamper said. "He is a faithful member."
State officials declared Walker County a disaster area to enable state funds to be spent on the clean-up. At least 20 funeral homes that may have sent bodies to the crematorium over the last six years have been asked to review records in the hope of identifying corpses. But many of the remains may never be identified.
