Two men have been arrested following the shocking discovery of 18 decomposing bodies at a funeral home in Coffee County, Georgia. The owner of the funeral home, Chris Johnson, and his alleged accomplice, James Sirmans, are facing serious charges, including abuse of dead bodies and insurance fraud.
Authorities say the arrests come after a disturbing investigation into the Johnson Funeral Home. Back in October, police found the bodies at the funeral home in various states of decay, raising concerns among grieving families who had trusted Johnson with their loved ones.
Chris Johnson, 39, was first arrested on October 27 and charged with 17 counts of abusing dead bodies. But as investigators dug deeper, more allegations surfaced. Now, Johnson and Sirmans, 52, are accused of altering the cause of death on at least one death certificate in 2022 to secure higher payouts from life insurance policies. Both men have been charged with two counts of insurance fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
The accusations don’t stop there. Johnson is also facing charges of theft by deception, forgery, and submitting fraudulent vital records as part of the alleged scheme. Authorities added charges of theft by taking and violations related to vital records registration in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funeral home and Johnson’s business practices.
Sirmans was arrested without incident on Sunday with help from the Ben Hill County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into Coffee County Jail but has since been released on bond.
For the families of the deceased, the situation has been heartbreaking and deeply unsettling. Investigators have identified 16 of the 18 bodies found at the funeral home, leaving families demanding answers about what happened to their loved ones. One grieving mother, Janell Kirkland, shared her story with local media. She said she paid Johnson over $10,000 in 2023 to bury her son in a local cemetery, but she now believes that burial never happened.
Kirkland says Johnson insisted on a closed-casket service, claiming her son’s body was not viewable. Trusting his word, she agreed. “I can’t have peace of mind because I don’t know what’s in that coffin,” Kirkland told reporters, adding that she’s now questioning everything.
To make matters worse, Johnson’s website reportedly listed 36 burials or cremations for this year alone, yet half of the bodies discovered on his property were from 2024. Some families who used his services were given ashes, while others were led to believe their loved ones had been buried in purchased plots.
Investigators are still working to identify the two remaining bodies and verify whether the cremation ashes Johnson distributed actually belong to the right families. Among the remains found on the property were also two pets — a dog and a cat — which authorities are now examining to confirm whether they are indeed animal remains or possibly human.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) assured the public that the investigation is ongoing. “We’re working to identify the remaining remains and confirm details about the cremations,” officials said in a statement. Families continue to await answers, while Johnson and Sirmans face mounting legal troubles.
