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Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
A Taphophilia Thank You...
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Relatives lawsuit against crematory operator goes to trial |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Sunday, 22 August 2004 |
August 21, 2004
MARK NIESSE
Associated Press
ROME, Ga. - Nearly 1,700 relatives of people whose bodies were found piled across a crematory's property are suing the owner for all he's worth, which may not be much.
The lawsuit against Brent Marsh and the estate of his father, Ray Brent Marsh, goes to trial Monday, 2 1/2 years after the remains of 334 people were discovered at the Tri-State Crematory in Noble, near the Tennessee border.
Investigators found heaps of decaying bodies from Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee that were supposed to be cremated. Tests later revealed the crematory gave some families cement dust instead of their loved one's ashes.
"That was my son who was cremated. We don't know if that's him or not," said Anthony Schuchman of Pittsburgh, one of the named plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit.
Schuchman said he's seeking about $1,500 paid back for the cremation and cost of digging up his son's grave in a failed attempt to find a body part large enough to do DNA testing on. The son, Gilbert Schuchman, died Dec. 29, 1992, and was supposedly cremated at Tri-State.
Schuchman, 85, ended his interview with The Associated Press when he got worried his comments might interfere with the lawsuit.
Attorneys for the 1,671 plaintiffs say it will be more difficult to collect money from Marsh than convince a jury of his guilt. A judge ruled Brent Marsh was too poor to afford his own lawyer in the criminal case, but he's being represented in the civil case by attorneys paid for by his insurance company.
"It's probably about as strong a case against Brent Marsh as you can possibly have," said Robert Darroch, an attorney for the families. "Most of them are still incredibly emotional about what happened. This ruined the memory about the passing of one of their loved ones."
The civil case first reached trial last spring. It lasted about two weeks before all 58 funeral homes named in the lawsuit reached settlements totaling $36 million.
The lawsuit doesn't specify what amount of money the families are seeking from Marsh. This trial will only determine liability. If guilty, a second trial a few months later would award damages.
Marsh's defense attorneys say they will concentrate on trying to show that the estate of Ray Brent Marsh should not bear any responsibility because there's no proof of negligence before Jan. 11, 1997, the earliest date of death of one of the identified bodies recovered from the property. Brent Marsh, the son, ran the crematory after that time.
"We're really trying to show Ray Brent Marsh did the cremations the way he was supposed to," said defense attorney Frank Jenkins. "But it's not like we're in any way pointing the finger at Brent Marsh."
That said, the defense will focus on clearing Ray Brent Marsh's estate, said defense attorney Stuart James.
If the families get a guilty verdict, they will then likely try to get the Marshes' insurance company, Georgia Farm Bureau, to pay.
Georgia Farm Bureau previously settled with the Marshes to pay for their defense but not assume liability. At least two lawsuits are pending over the existence of insurance and whether Georgia Farm Bureau would bear any responsibility.
Of the families in the lawsuit, there are more than 300 people whose relatives were found and clearly identified at the crematory, about 450 people who received urns filled with something other than their relatives' ashes, and about 900 more who don't know whether they're victims because they scattered the ashes given to them, Darroch said.
Marsh will exercise his constitutional right against incriminating himself and will not testify, Jenkins said.
He faces 787 charges in a criminal trial set for Oct. 11. If convicted, he could be sentenced to more than 8,000 years in prison.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/politics/9461849.htm |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Taphophilia Facts
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Pennsylvania is home to one Presidential gravesite, James Buchanan.
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Quote Repository
“Tears are sometimes an inappropriate response to death. When a life has been lived completely honestly, completely successfully, or just completely, the correct response to death's perfect punctuation mark is a smile.” Julie Burchill
Grave Epigrams
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If to be useful is our beings end and aim,
Then this high excellence, our friend might claim.
For this she lived, for this she spent her breath,
Nor ceased her acts of kindness, but with death. Dedham. MA 1841 |
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Shirtless and Sculpted
The Men of Mortuaries 2008 Calendar is now available! All sale proceeds benefit KAMMCARES, a breast cancer foundation.
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