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American Morning

Interview of Rusty Cash, Relative of Woman Found at Crematorium

Aired February 18, 2002 - 09:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We go now from Compton to a gruesome scene in rural Georgia.

The state's medical examiner says officials expect to find at least 200 bodies when they are finished searching in and around the crematory in Noble, Georgia. Authorities say bodies were discarded like trash, and some may have been there for 15 years. Some family members this morning are trying to identify the remains of loved ones, and wondering why the man who took their money for cremations never performed them.

First, here is Art Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An 18 wheeler on a country road in northwest Georgia, refrigerated, cold enough to keep food fresh, but hauling a different load this time, and for days or weeks to come -- dead bodies. More than 100 bodies were discovered in makeshift graves or scattered in the woods at a mortuary that was paid to cremate them in rural Walker County, Georgia.

At a press conference, more grizzly details.

SHERIFF STEVE WILSON, WALKER COUNTY, GEORGIA: We discovered one concrete vault stuffed or packed with more human remains. There could be as many as 20 remains in this one concrete vault.

DR. KRIS SPERRY, STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER: This has clearly increased the numbers that we know of dramatically if, indeed, all of those vaults are filled with bodies, and I suspect that they are.

HARRIS: Governor Roy Barnes, who declared the county a disaster area, flew in and met with grieving families.

GOV. ROY BARNES, GEORGIA: They thought they had closure on the death of a loved one and they do not. And then they find in the method in which the remains were disposed of is shocking, is shocking to us all.

HARRIS: Marilyn Crawford says her family received ashes of her brother-in-law, or so they thought. And came from Chattanooga for answers. MARILYN CRAWFORD: We thought that he was taken care of and died with dignity and buried with dignity and now to find out he's been tossed in a woods or water or in a shed somewhere, you know, it's unthinkable.

HARRIS: Crawford was among dozens of families from Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia who flocked here, some with urns they thought contained ashes of their relatives, instead filled with sand or concrete, say officials, and now considered evidence.

Meanwhile, the man who operated the crematorium, Ray Marsh, who's been charged with five accounts of theft by deception, was released from jail after posting $25,000 bond. Whatever alleged crime may be prosecuted, those who have come here for answers all agree, burying family is sacred, a cultural rite of passage, the governor said, especially sacred in the south, a time to remember and a time to grieve before healing, and not have to grieve again.

Art Harris, CNN, Walker County, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And police investigators say they asked Ray Marsh, the crematory operator, why the bodies had not been cremated. He told them the incinerator was not working. Joining us now from Noble, Georgia is Rusty Cash. His mother-in-law's body is one of those that has been identified. Thanks very much for joining us this morning. How is your family handling this news?

RUSTY CASH, SON-IN-LAW OF DECEASED: My family is devastated knowing that my mother-in-law was, you know, she passed away right at two months ago, and Saturday we have a phone call saying that she was not cremated at all, and it's just devastating for us all.

COOPER: Is it anger, is it sadness, is it some combination of both of those?

CASH: Well, first of all, it was like in -- like a denial of my wife and my family. Then when Turner's (ph) Funeral Home out of Chattanooga called us and said, we have bad news, that the GBI found Norma Hutton's (ph) body, that's when denial came into rage and anger.

COOPER: Norma Hutton (ph) was your mother-in-law. Now, you had received an urn with what you believed were her ashes. In the wake of this, you have now found out her body is, in fact -- was being kept on the property of the crematory. What do you think in the urn that you were given?

CASH: I'm not an expert. We did look at it, but it's -- I couldn't tell you exactly what was in it, but I know it's not Norma Hutton. If it is someone's remains, it's not ours.

COOPER: You've been in Noble all weekend. I imagine you've run into other family members who are going through this same situation. What is the mood there right now? CASH: Well, it's -- they got very upset when they found out that the gentleman is out of bond -- out of jail there, on bond, and it is -- they are very upset. Actually, they're very angry that somebody can do this tragic thing like this, and they're -- they can be out so quickly.

COOPER: Ray Marsh, the man you talked about, is out on bail, and my understanding is that authorities really aren't sure exactly how to proceed with this, that the laws aren't really set up for dealing with this kind of thing. If this man is guilty, or whoever is guilty, what do you think should happen to them?

CASH: Well, no doubt about it, that he is guilty. Knowing that -- knowing that something was going on on his property. I couldn't tell you. There's not a thing that you could do to -- I wouldn't know. I couldn't tell you. There's so much pain that these people is going through down here, whatever they do to him, it won't be enough.

COOPER: What happens next? Has your mother-in-law's body been released to your family, where do you do from here?

CASH: Yesterday, we got a phone call from Turner's Funeral Home. We did definitely I.D. Ms. Hutton. She was embalmed the day of the funeral there, and she looked fairly well, besides that she was two weeks passed away. So what we are going to do now, there's a funeral home, I don't know which one, but there is a funeral home that is going to cremate her for free of charge and to help -- help us as much as they can.

COOPER: At this point, are you planning legal action against anyone?

CASH: I don't know yet. I feel comfortable that we need to talk to somebody, but I don't know who yet.

COOPER: All right, Rusty Cash, thanks very for joining us on this -- what must just be an unimaginably difficult morning. Thank you very much for taking some time with us.

CASH: Thank you.

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