No End To Corpses
The operator of a crematory where hundreds of corpses have been found now faces more than 100 criminal counts for failing to cremate the bodies and deliver their ashes to relatives.
Search teams have recovered 339 corpses from the crematory grounds, and only 74 have been identified.
Authorities feel the number could go much higher after discovering a new pit.
"One of the things that was disturbing to us in the new pit that was found today is that it was much deeper than any other before we began to find remains," said Walker County emergency services director David Washburn Tuesday. "We may have to look a lot deeper over the whole area."
Investigators plan to drain a lake on the property to look for more bodies.
Authorities filed 102 theft-by-deception charges Tuesday against Ray Brent Marsh, the operator of the Tri-State Crematory, bringing the number of charges against him to 118.
The latest charges are tied to 51 of the corpses that have been found and identified. For each body, one count was filed for taking money from the families and another for failing to give the ashes to the families, officials said.
The charges were filed on the same day that the Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected Georgia's request to declare the recovery effort a disaster, which would have resulted in significant federal funding.
Authorities criticized the agency and said they would encourage Gov. Roy Barnes to appeal to President Bush.
"There's been no response from the president, and people were looking forward to that," said Bebe Heiskell, the lone commissioner of Walker County. "This is so expensive, we just have no idea."
FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh said a natural disaster declaration is not warranted in the cleanup, and that other federal agencies such as the Department of Justice or Health and Human Services are better suited to help.
Hours before the charges were filed Tuesday, a judge had set Marsh's bail at $100,000 on the original 16 counts. The new counts prevent his release from jail until a new hearing can be set, District Attorney Buzz Franklin said.
Also on Tuesday, Marsh's wife and sister visited him at the county jail. Neither spoke to reporters. Marsh's attorney, former state lawmaker Ken Poston, would not comment on his client's case.
At the crematory grounds, several acres (hectares) still needed to be searched, and investigators said Tuesday that remains are buried farther underground than they originally thought.
They are using infrared pictures taken from a helicopter to identify "hot spots" where soil has been disturbed.
"We have a lot of ground we still have to excavate," said Dr. Kris Sperry, the chief Georgia medical examiner. "We have no idea how many bodies are buried, how far back this goes."