18 decomposed bodies were found at Johnson’s Funeral and Cremation Services in Coffee County, Georgia

Investigators discovered 18 decomposing bodies at a funeral home in Georgia.

The owner of Johnson’s Funeral and Cremation Services was charged with 17 counts of abuse of a corpse.

“My first reaction was, ‘I hope it wasn’t our daughter.’ But then you realize that if it’s not our daughter, it’s someone else’s,” Tiffany Evans said.

The investigation began on October 26, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to the scene to assist with serving an eviction notice.

“(Owner) When we first met, he seemed like a very good person. He was just nice and gentle. So when someone sent me the link from WALB, I thought, ‘This can’t be,'” said Angela Howell.

People who used Johnson’s services said he was almost impossible to contact throughout the process.

“We still haven’t received the death certificate, which I paid Chris Johnson for in full,” Sherri Thomas said. “I probably called 50 to 60 times and he never called me back. And I wonder, with all these bodies, if my mother’s body is even in that urn.”

Others had to threaten him with legal action to finally obtain the death certificates of their loved ones.

“I came here many mornings,” said Janell, another customer. “He was here, he had a car in the back. But he didn’t want to come to the door when you called him. I told him I would hire a lawyer. Then he finally got my death certificates back. almost a year later.”

It is now necessary to properly identify the 18 bodies found.

“My priority is to properly identify the bodies and notify the family. Please be understanding