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Crematory owner held as judge weighs bail request

Marsh appeared in court for the first time Friday.

LAFAYETTE, Georgia (CNN) -- The man accused of dumping hundreds of decomposing corpses on the grounds of his northwest Georgia crematory will remain in jail for the near future while a county judge considers his bond request.

Ray Brent Marsh, wearing handcuffs and a bulletproof vest, appeared in court for the first time Friday, five days after his originally scheduled bond hearing was postponed so he could find an attorney.

Speaking after prosecutors and defense lawyers presented their arguments at the hearing, Walker County Chief Magistrate William J. Day said he would rule on the request to post bail for Marsh.

The Georgia resident is charged with16 felony counts of theft by deception -- one count for each of the bodies identified at the time he was charged. Authorities say Marsh, 28, did not perform cremations that families had paid him to do.

VIDEO Recovering bodies at a crematorium in Georgia is having a profound effect on investigators. (February 21) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes    Concerned families can contact the Georgia Emergency Management Agency 1-888-887-1845 http://www.gema.state.ga.us/ EXTRA INFORMATION State-by-state cremation laws

Authorities have recovered 301 sets of human remains on the Tri-State Crematory grounds and surrounding property owned by Marsh in Noble, a small town near the Tennessee and Alabama borders. Investigators have identified 65 of those remains, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency's Web site on Saturday.

The bodies came from 30 funeral homes in Georgia, Tennnessee and Alabama, Walker County Coroner Dewayne Wilson said. The state board of funeral directors has requested families who used those funeral homes to ask whether their loved ones' bodies were taken to the crematory.

Several urns brought to authorities by relatives of the dead contained ashes that were not human remains, but concrete or cement powder.

Tri-State escaped regulation because it did business with funeral homes, not directly with the public, legal experts said.

"There's legislation that's been introduced already here in Georgia that would require the full inspection, full licensing of all crematories," said Mollie Fleeman, the director of the state's professional licensing board.

Sheriff: Many threats made against Marsh

Wilson opposed releasing Marsh on bail Friday, citing personal threats he had heard made against the suspect.

"I have never seen the community so outraged about one incident," Wilson testified. He said Marsh also could be considered a flight risk given the nature of the case.

But Marsh's attorney, Ken Poston, dismissed Wilson's concerns, saying Georgia law does not provide grounds for denying bail.

"There is nothing in the code that says ... because of the nature of the offense, don't let him out," Poston said. "There's nothing in the code -- and even if there should be, there's not -- that says I'm worried about the defendant, don't let him out."

Poston also said Marsh has strong ties to the community and is not a flight risk.

Marsh's wife, Vanessa, and one of his sisters were in the courtroom for the hearing, along with at least two families who had sent loved ones to Tri-State.

Later Friday, a delegation including U.S. senators Max Cleland and Zell Miller and Rep. Nathan Deal, each of whom represents Walker County, toured the crematory area via helicopter to assess the environmental damage caused by the discarded bodies.

The entire recovery process could take eight months, investigators said. Authorities do not know how much it will cost, "simply because we don't know what we're going to find," said GEMA spokesman Buzz Weiss.