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Marsh wants change of venue in crematory trial |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Monday, 17 November 2003 |
By NORMAN AREY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LAFAYETTE -- An FBI agent testified today that a tape of a phone call threatening former Tri-State Crematory operator Ray Brent Marsh has been "misplaced" by investigators.
The phone call, placed to defense attorney McCracken Poston, was "disturbing" but did not warrant a federal investigation, said Special Agent James McJunkin.
The woman caller said Marsh should be let out of jail to "be killed," McJunkin testified.
McJunkin said he believes the lost tape, given to him by Poston, remains in the possession of the GBI.
Testimony in the motions hearing will help decide whether Marsh's trial should be moved from Walker County in northwest Georgia. Poston alleges the avalanche of publicity about the case makes it impossible to select an impartial jury in the county where his client has been charged with failing to cremate more than 300 bodies.
Marsh, 30, faces trial on a 787-count indictment that includes charges of theft by deception, abuse of a corpse and burial service fraud.
Marsh has said that he has no money; he wants taxpayers to pay his lawyer.
The two requests and others are being considered in the hearings that began today in Walker County before Superior Court Judge James Bodiford.
"I would say [today] is going to be a long day and Tuesday, may not be so long," Poston said.
Marsh, 30, faces trial on a 787-count indictment that includes charges of theft by deception, abuse of a corpse and burial service fraud.
Between February and March of 2002, 334 bodies were found strewn about or buried on the property of Tri-State Crematory in Noble.
The bodies were from Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. The indictment alleges that in some cases, families were given concrete dust purported to be cremains.
Marsh spent six months in jail before bond was set, and when he was released, the judge and local police expressed concern for his safety because so many families were upset with the allegations that their loved ones' remains had not been handled properly.
On the motion to move the trial, Poston said, "There's nothing to compare this one to. For seven months, the state would have had us believe that Brent Marsh was as in danger as Saddam Hussein is right now, in the cross hairs. Then immediately, once I got him out on bond, they discount and disclaim every security concern.
"We've had gunshots close to the property, intruders trespassing, plenty that would justify a full change of venue," Poston said.
District Attorney Herbert "Buzz" Franklin has filed a response to Poston's motion, stating that a jury should be brought in from another county for the trial. He said he would fight moving the trial.
Franklin said he recognized how difficult it would be to seat a jury of Walker residents.
"There's just so many people in the community who have relatives, friends and acquaintances who used the crematory, were victims, or who worked on the site," Franklin said.
"We had pretty much everybody in the sheriff's office, in the public works department, the roads department and the pardons and paroles office work down there [during the clean-up]. There's just a lot of people here with connections."
Franklin discounts Poston's concern about Marsh's safety. "There are no safety concerns sufficient to warrant the actual conduct of the entire trial to another county," he said.
David Ashburn, who oversees Walker County operations, says if the trial is moved, it could increase trial costs 10 times over because the county would be responsible for security, courtroom rental, travel, lodging and food expenses.
Poston says he doesn't see how the prosecution could argue about the claim that Marsh has no money and can't pay a defense attorney.
"He's been under house arrest and I don't think it was ever envisioned by the court that he could go out and get a job," he said. "Who would want to bring that kind of attention and security problems to their business?"
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/1103/17tristate.html |
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