According to CBS News, Marsh never gave any public explanation as to why he just let the bodies accumulate. At one point early in the investigation, Marsh did state that his incinerator was broken, but offered no reason why he never fixed it (per Channel 9 News). Throughout the investigation, it was revealed that Marsh was giving funeral homes concrete dust instead of human cremains, keeping up the illusion that he was still conducting business as usual at his crematorium. This revelation added some serious additional charges to the already numerous ones on the criminal complaint against him.
The State of Georgia charged Marsh with nearly 800 criminal counts, including abuse of a corpse, burial service-related fraud, theft by deception, and giving false statements. Facing nearly 1,000 years if convicted on all counts, Marsh struck a plea deal with prosecutors. He would plead guilty in 2004 in exchange for a 12-year prison sentence and 75 years probation (per WSB-TV 2).
In 2007, Marsh’s attorney purported that Marsh had elevated levels of mercury and other levels of metals in his system, likely from faulty ventilation in the facility resulting in years of mercury fillings being melted and invading the air Marsh breathed. This could have caused “mad hatter syndrome,” diminishing Marsh’s cognitive abilities. It was noted that the longer Marsh got into his prison sentence, the more lucid and clear-headed he became.
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