All eyes on South Georgia funeral home After the owner was arrested and accused of neglecting human corpses. Authorities say they found more than a dozen decomposed bodies at the funeral home while giving the business a routine evacuation notice.

The owner of Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services in Douglas, Georgia, was charged with 17 counts of mistreatment of a corpse. Georgian Bureau of Investigation (GBI). The arrest warrant for Chris Lee Johnson says he failed to properly store the bodies, resulting in “severe disfigurement” of the deceased.

One of the 18 human remains discovered belongs to a child. Authorities continue to work with the families of the dead to identify the victims and learn more about them. The bodies decomposed for months before they were discovered, authorities said. Police also found several dead animals at the facility, including cats and dogs.

Coffee County Coroner Brandon Musgrove said WALB-TV“My priority is to correctly identify the bodies and notify the family. Please bear with us. “We are working as meticulously as we can.”

When he appeared in court on Monday, October 28, a judge denied Johnson bail due to the seriousness of the charges. As of Nov. 1, Johnson did not have an attorney listed under his name, but he told the court he plans to seek his own attorney. Local 3 News. Court records also say Johnson is expected to face additional charges as the investigation into his business continues.

Interestingly, Johnson ran for public office in the small city of Douglas earlier this year. He was defeated in the primary election for Coffee County coroner in May, according to the report. Atlanta Magazine Constitution.

Authorities said Johnson was in the process of changing his workplace when the bodies were discovered. Between the moves, Johnson’s business operated out of its original location.

To make matters worse, in light of the scandal, previous and current family clients of Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services are beginning to question the status of their deceased loved ones.

“We still haven’t received Chris Johnson’s death certificate, which I paid for in full,” Sherri Thomas told WALB-TV. “I probably called him more than 50-60 times and not once did he answer my phone. And among all these corpses, I wonder if even my mother’s body is in this jar.