Whatever happened to. . .that fellow who had human remains all over his property.

Not all that long ago, the grim news everyone was talking about involved a crematorium owner who failed to incinerate bodies. Instead, he stored them on the grounds of the crematorium. Residing in a small house surrounded by the dead did not seem to bother him. The man disappeared from the news after serving a few months in jail, receiving death threats and being sued by survivors of the improperly disposed of. This week, the young Georgian will take responsibility for his failure to carry out his duties.

The Macon Telegraph reports.

ATLANTA -When former crematory operator Ray Brent Marsh pleads guilty Friday to dumping 334 bodies and passing off cement dust as their ashes, the victims' relatives and resident of a rural northwest Georgia community may still be left asking the question "Why?"

Two years after the crime in Noble, Ga., shocked the nation, determining a motive remains elusive, and without a trial the answer may never be known.

"You're not ever going to learn what occurred and what motivated it unless sometime down into the future Mr. Marsh will speak up," U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy told victims' families at a hearing last month where a class-action civil lawsuit against Marsh was settled.

Marsh will reportedly be sentenced to 12 years in prison, with credit for time served, and, one assumes, good behavior. There are also charges pending against him in Tennessee.

During the coverage of the episode, I read several articles about his behavior before and after he took over his invalid father's business. The symptoms described — lethargy, lack of affect, inattention to details — sounded like someone suffering from depression to me. Most people's bouts of the blues result in low libido, indifference to others and/or unpaid bills, not human remains strewn around their homes. An aunt who agreed to talk to the press says she thinks Marsh is mentally ill.

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