Tri State Crematory operator Brent Marsh said Friday afternoon in a LaFayette courtroom that he "apologizes" to family members of those whose bodies he did not cremate and to his own family.
But Marsh said he "does not have answers" as to why 339 bodies were left uncremated at the Noble, Ga., facility and why many families were given cement dust instead of the actual remains of their loved ones.
Marsh will have a 12-year prison sentence, prosecutor Buzz Franklin announced at the crowded Walker County Courthouse Annex.
The 31-year-old Marsh will be on probation for 75 years.
He must pay a $20,000 fine at the rate of $1,000 a year beginning within a year of when he gets out of prison. He will get credit for seven months served in jail earlier.
Marsh will also be required to write a handwritten apology to family members. They will be delivered by the probation office to a representative of each family whose body was mishandled.
Prosecutor Franklin said should Marsh try to profit later by "telling his story" that he would have to pay up to $8 million in restitution.
Some family members were dissatisfied with the outcome of the hearing. Terri Crawford, whose brother's body was sent to the crematory, said, "We're sentenced for the rest of our lives to not knowing what happened. And he's not going to tell us."
Another man with family members taken to the crematory said, "In my heart I feel like the other (Marsh) family members knew what was going on. Exactly why was he apologizing to them?"
Attorney Ken Poston said the plea bargain was worked out in late August in a hotel lobby in Rome, Ga., with negotiations continuing until around midnight. It was the same time that the $80 million civil settlement was agreed.
Marsh stood during the hearing and turned to the audience, including many family members of those taken to the crematory. He read a statement in which he said, "The answers many of you came here to get, I cannot give. It is not for lack of desire to give the answers. It is for lack of the answer."
He said, "To those I have harmed, I sincerely apologize."
Marsh, who left UTC after his junior year in 1996 to take over the crematory from his ailing father, said he also wanted to apologize to his family for the pain he caused them.
He said his family "endured so much pain, so much condemnation." He took a swipe at officials who he said had "rushed to accuse - all the time knowing the truth."
Marsh said he wanted to thank the judge and the attorneys in the case "for their professionalism."
Judge James Bodiford said he is likely to accept the plea agreement, but will wait to hear from family members before deciding.
He said he has set aside two days for family testimony, starting at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 31.
Attorney Poston said Marsh will go into custody after the first of the year.
He said Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox is satisfied with the agreement. He said Marsh will be taken from Walker County to Bradley County, where he also faces charges. He said he will plead guilty there and get sentences that are concurrent with the 12-year term.
Defense attorneys asked that a gag order be lifted, but prosecutor Buzz Franklin said it should stay in place until after the sentencing hearing. Judge Bodiford said he will decide by noon on Dec. 3.
Judge Bodiford had ruled earlier that a jury would be selected in Lee County, Ga., and brought to LaFayette for the trial.
He said he had prepared a 9-page opinion on the question of whether prosecutor Franklin should recuse himself because it was found he had a distant relative whose body was taken to the crematory. Judge Bodiford said he would not release that opinion since the issue is now moot.
Attorney Poston said Marsh "feels true remorse for the families he has pained and also for his immediate family."
He said it should be pointed out that Marsh did not deface any of the bodies. Prosecutor Franklin said some were placed in pits, others crammed in vaults and others strewn out in the elements under piles of garbage and debris.
Marsh had faced 787 felony counts. Altogether, he faced sentences of more than 8,000 years.
He plead guilty to charges involving abuse of a corpse, burial services fraud and giving false statements.
Judge Bodiford said going to trial would not have meant family members learned why the bodies were mishandled. He noted Marsh would not have had to testify.
He said the plea agreement would "give some finality" to the case.
Judge Bodiford said he hopes the upcoming hearing will help in the healing process. He admonished those who will speak that they can be firm in their opinions, but cannot be discourtesy.