DOUGLAS, GA. (WALB) – Coffee County families who trusted their loved ones with a local funeral home hope they will no longer be part of the GBI investigation.

Douglas resident Sherri Thomas utilized Johnson’s cremation services when her mother passed away in July 2024. Throughout the entire process, Sherri said it was nearly impossible to contact Chris Johnson.

“I received his ashes about a month and a half after his death. I thought this was too long. Then when he didn’t answer my calls, I started to think something was wrong,” Thomas said.

The director of Meadows Funeral Home in Albany took the time to explain the appropriate time frame for cremation.

“If the family already knows they want to cremate the body, then they come, they sign the permission, they make the contract, then we can return the body to the family by the end of the next day,” he said. Manager of Meadows Funeral Home.

According to the Georgia Cemetery and Funeral Services Act of 2000, “the registrant shall provide the customer with a written contract, the form of which is filed with the Secretary of State, upon purchasing any burial rights or burial or funeral items or services.” The law then states that a dedicated telephone number must be added to the Secretary of State’s office for questions and complaints.

Thomas said he never signed a contract with Johnson, so no contact information was provided to file a complaint.

When news broke about the decomposing bodies found at Johnson’s Funeral Home, Sherri couldn’t help but worry that the remains she received didn’t even belong to her mother. She told WALB that the GBI took her mother’s urn to Atlanta for DNA testing.

Previous Scope

• Douglas funeral home owner accused of eviction after 18 decomposed bodies were found
• Funeral home owner arrested after 18 decomposed bodies were found during evacuation

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