The Pastor | Chapter 8

Summary

Noble: The Pastor | Chapter 8 – Detailed Summary

Noble, an 8-episode true crime series produced by Waveland and Campside Media, delves into the harrowing discovery of over 300 bodies at the Tri-State Crematory in Noble, Georgia, during the winter of 2002. In Episode 8, titled "The Pastor," host Sean Raviv navigates the complex aftermath of the case, exploring the legal battles, the personal struggles of those involved, and the lingering questions about accountability and forgiveness.

Introduction to the Legal Turmoil

Shortly after the gruesome discovery, the legal storm surrounding the Marsh family, owners of Tri-State Crematory, intensified. Raviv introduces Stuart James, a tall and lanky lawyer from Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance, who becomes instrumental in defending the Marshes amidst a flood of lawsuits.

[03:12] Stuart James: "The family, and he said, I got a bunch of lawsuits for you. And I said, really?... So I went down to Georgia and I picked up 115 lawsuits."

The Marsh family, along with several funeral homes associated with them, faced over 250 civil suits across three states, with potential damages exceeding $100 million. Most cases were consolidated into a single class action, while some funeral homes opted to settle individually.

Stuart James and Brent Marsh's Encounter

Stuart James seeks a comprehensive understanding of the situation by meeting Brent Marsh, the central figure behind the crematory operations. This meeting is not merely a legal formality but a crucial step in documenting the events surrounding the case.

[03:54] Stuart James: "So I went to the jail and I went in there and I sat in a little visiting room with him for a couple hours and went over everything detail by detail."

James emphasizes the importance of preserving Brent's account, recognizing that the lengthy civil litigation could span generations.

Brent Marsh's Time in Prison

Brent Marsh's incarceration is portrayed as a period of personal growth despite the high-profile nature of his case. His attorney, Stuart James, reflects on Brent's behavior while imprisoned.

[07:10] Brent Marsh: "He got more education in prison than anybody I know."

Brent pursued education, earned a theological degree, and even learned to be a barber. Despite his desire to engage in community activities like volunteering at the fire department, his notoriety restricted him to high-risk facilities.

[08:12] Stuart James: "I think the most painful aspect for him going to prison was that he couldn't be a daily part of raising his daughter."

Brent remained dedicated to his family, ensuring his daughter received support and maintaining a relationship with his wife and mother.

Release and Reintegration into Society

After serving 12 years, Brent Marsh is released in June 2016. Despite his exemplary behavior in prison, his parole requests are repeatedly denied due to the severe nature of his crimes. Upon release, Brent secures a job at a warehouse, obtains a commercial driver's license, and starts a transportation company. He also engages in community service, working with United Way and a Baptist pastors association.

[07:13] Brent Marsh: "He finished a theological degree. I was quite proud of him because he didn't sit idly. He was very well liked."

Raviv attempts to interview Brent to gain his perspective on the events at Tri-State Crematory, aiming to humanize him beyond the public image of a criminal.

Special Agent Greg Ramey's Ongoing Investigation

Special Agent Greg Ramey of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) remains dedicated to the case, striving to identify all the remains discovered at the crematory.

[14:19] Greg Ramey: "I felt like we did a phenomenal job other than in my heart. I wish we could have identified all of those bodies. That would have been my ultimate goal in it."

Ramey highlights the challenges faced in accurately identifying remains due to the state of decomposition and commingling of bodies. Ultimately, only 226 bodies were definitively identified out of an estimated 339, leaving numerous families without closure.

Unmarked Graves and Unidentified Remains

In March 2004, the state took measures to respectfully handle the unidentified remains by burying them in unmarked graves at a Walker County cemetery. Additionally, 178 sets of cremated remains were placed in unlabeled mausoleums after being abandoned by families.

[17:20] Sean Raviv: "I guess what the living owe the dead, like so much else in this world, depends on the person and their feelings at any given moment."

This segment underscores the lingering unresolved aspects of the case and the ethical questions surrounding the treatment of the deceased.

Family Dynamics and Legacy

The Marsh family's financial standing surprisingly improved following settlement agreements. Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance negotiated a deal that absolved them of further liabilities, resulting in the Marsh family receiving $400,000 in trusts while retaining their property.

[33:58] Stuart James: "Everything about the whole thing was there. Did it work? Did it not work? Was it maintained?"

Despite the financial settlement, the family's legacy remains tarnished. Clara Marsh, Brent's mother, and Brent himself continue to live on the property, now under a conservation easement that prevents further construction on the land.

The Final Attempt: Meeting Brent at New Home Baptist Church

In early 2024, Raviv and his producer, Johnny Kaufman, make a poignant visit to New Home Baptist Church in Noble, hoping to engage directly with Brent Marsh. Their goal is to capture his humanity and possibly reveal his motivations behind the tragic events.

Upon arrival, they are greeted by Clara Marsh, who shares a connection to the community through her past as an English teacher. The service proceeds with Brent delivering a sermon that subtly mirrors his own ordeal, reflecting themes of guidance and restraint in difficult situations.

[40:37] Brent Marsh's Sermon: "Sometimes God will put you in a tough spot and it might not be clear what the right thing is to do... his time is always the right time."

After the service, the congregation expresses appreciation for Raviv and Kaufman's presence, with one woman urging them to "tell the truth."

Reflections on Accountability and Closure

The episode concludes by contemplating the moral responsibilities of the living towards the dead. Raviv muses on whether time and healing diminish these obligations, especially in cases as complex and emotionally charged as the Tri-State Crematory scandal.

[28:51] Sean Raviv: "Maybe keeping his mouth shut is the best way to protect them."

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Stuart James on Taking Up the Lawsuits:

  "[03:12] Stuart James:...I picked up 115 lawsuits."

• Brent Marsh on Education in Prison:

  "[07:10] Brent Marsh: He got more education in prison than anybody I know."

• Stuart James on Brent's Dedication to Family:

  "[08:12] Stuart James:...the most important thing is that regardless of what he did or did not do, he loved her."

• Greg Ramey on Identification Efforts:

  "[14:19] Greg Ramey:...I wish we could have identified all of those bodies."

• Stuart James on Family Duty:

  "[18:52] Stuart James:...he did it out of duty for family."

• Greg Ramey on Accountability:

  "[21:22] Greg Ramey:...But at the end of the day, this guy wasn't criminal mastermind."

• Brent Marsh's Sermon Insight:

  "[40:37] Brent Marsh: Sometimes God will put you in a tough spot..."

Conclusion

In "The Pastor," Noble deepens its exploration of the Tri-State Crematory case by humanizing Brent Marsh and examining the intricate web of legal, familial, and personal factors that contributed to one of the American South's darkest investigations. Through interviews, personal reflections, and poignant narratives, the episode invites listeners to ponder the enduring question: What do the living owe the dead?

Transcript

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[Brent Marsh]

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[Sean Raviv]

This podcast contains graphic descriptions of death and decay. Please listen with care. Roughly five seconds after the news about Tri State hit the airwaves back in 2002, every lawyer within spitting distance of Noble began recruiting clients. Some attorneys put out newspaper ads, and one law firm creates a website just to lure in families who were victims of Tri State Crematory. A flurry of lawsuits follows against the funeral homes and Brent Marsh and his family. Luckily, the Marshes have a homeowner's policy with Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance, and the company ends up providing them with representation for the civil cases. That's how a tall and lanky lawyer named Stuart James gets involved. A guy from the insurance company calls Stuart to ask if he'll help defend.

[Stuart James]

The family, and he said, I got a bunch of lawsuits for you. And I said, really? He said, I got about. I think it was like 115. And I said, what are you talking about? He said, well, you know about that guy who had the dead bodies on the property, and I Said, yeah. And he said, well, we insure him. And I said, really? So I went down to Georgia and I picked up 115 lawsuits.

[Sean Raviv]

In total. The marshes in the funeral homes Brent worked with faced more than 250 civil suits in three states combined. They're looking at more than $100 million in potential damages. Most of the remaining cases are consolidated into a single class action suit seeking millions of dollars. And some of the funeral homes settle on their own. Amidst all this litigation, Stuart meets with Brent. This isn't one of their regular lawyer client visits. Stuart wants to get the full story from Brent to learn exactly what happened at Tri State. The civil suits could go on a long time and people get old and die. He wants to make sure the story exists somewhere on paper, even if that paper is then put into a safe and locked away.

[Stuart James]

So I went to the jail and I went in there and I sat in a little visiting room with him for a couple hours and went over everything detail by detail. And he understood that I was making a record, and I made a record of it that I could use at a later time.

[Sean Raviv]

You know, you wrote it all down. In other words.

[Stuart James]

I did write it all down.

[Sean Raviv]

Was it an important moment for Brent then? Was it like a final confession getting off his chest, or was it already off his chest?

[Stuart James]

Well, no, it was. He and I were sitting there talking about what happened, and he knew. You know, Brent's smart guy. He knew I was doing it because I'm a lawyer, not his friend. It was his lawyer. I said, this is because I'm preserving the record. He understood that. He understood exactly what was going on, and he just told me everything. I know why it happened, when it happened. I know exactly where all the bodies were. I know exactly what he did. I know everything that he did, and I know the reasons why.

[Sean Raviv]

When I speak with Stuart, I'm hoping he'll connect me to Brent, who has never gone on the record with any reporter. I want to interview Brent because I want to know what was going on in his head when he ran the crematory. I want to know why he did all this, why this all happened in the first place. And I know the families do, too. And after a year of working on this story and learning everything I can about him and except what it's like to be in the same room, I will finally meet Brent Marsh from Waveland and Campside Media. This is Noble. I'm Sean Raviv. Episode 8 the Pastor as part of his plea deal in the criminal case, Brenton has To send a handwritten letter of apology to a designated relative of each body that was found and identified at Tri State. He writes more than 200 versions of this. Dear Mrs. Smith, I am so sorry for your loss. I wish I had the answers to give you that would put your mind at ease, but I do not. I can only offer you my deepest apology. Someday I pray that you will be able to forgive me for my failure to properly perform my job. Also, I pray you will be able to put an end to this chapter of your life. Please accept my sincerest apologies and my prayers for you. Prayerfully yours, Brent Marsh. To start serving his 12 years, Brent is taken to a prison close to the Georgia coast. A five and a half hour drive from the Appalachian hills of Noble. Here's his civil defense attorney, Stuart James.

[Stuart James]

Brent was considered a high risk prisoner because he was so high profile. When he was originally in prison. He was in a facility where cops and high risk prisoners were being there. He was a really good prisoner and he wanted to go work and be a volunteer member at the fire department up the street. Normally they would have allowed him to do that, but because of who he was, they did not.

[Sean Raviv]

But Brent finds a lot of other things to do.

[Brent Marsh]

He got more education in prison than anybody I know.

[Sean Raviv]

That's Brent's criminal defense attorney, McCracken Poston.

[Brent Marsh]

But I guess if you're doing 12 years, you do that. I think he learned how to be a barber. He finished a theological degree. I was quite proud of him because he didn't sit idly. He was very well liked. He did a lot of work in prison. He was very reliable, no disciplinary record, that kind of thing, which is remarkable.

[Sean Raviv]

In Georgia it's common for an offender to be released early if they don't cause any problems. And Brent is a model prisoner according to McCracken. But he's never granted parole. Later in his sentence, Brent is transferred to a facility a bit closer to Noble so it's easier for his family to visit. That family includes a daughter. Incredibly, she was born two weeks before the bodies were discovered. As this little girl was first encountering the world, her father was being arrested and put on the COVID of newspapers across the country. Stuart James again.

[Stuart James]

I think the most painful aspect for him going to prison was that he couldn't be a daily part of the raising his daughter. But he was even dedicated from prison to make sure that everything was done for her benefit, make sure that she was visited him, made sure he wrote her letters, make sure that he supported any decision his wife was making in terms of her education, make sure that his mother was involved with her life and make sure that. I think the most important thing is that regardless of what he did or did not do, he loved her. And that love was unconventional. He's a great father.

[Sean Raviv]

Brent's daughter is a teenager when he gets out of prison in June of 2016, 14 years after the bodies were first discovered. McCracken picks him up. Local news reporters are there, and they follow McCracken's black pickup all the way to Noble. They want to get Brent to say a few words, but he stands silent as McCracken speaks on his behalf. McCracken tells the reporters that it's time to forgive Brent Marshall, to welcome him back to the community. He says, I just want people to leave him alone and give him a chance. I'm as guilty as anyone of not leaving Brent Marsh alone. I suspect that if he was given the choice, he'd prefer I never make this podcast that Tri State Crematory and everything he did and didn't do was forgotten forever. And I've wondered myself, is it wrong to put more attention on Brent, someone who has been portrayed as a sicko and a monster, but who has done his time and is now trying to get past it? But I also know that his actions affected a lot of other people, not just Brent. And I don't think he's monstrous, far from it. So I stay in touch with Brent's lawyers, Stuart and McCracken, and repeatedly nicely ask for an interview. The idea is to present Brent as a human being, whatever kind of human he is. I tell Stuart and McCracken that if listeners can hear Brent's voice, they'll hear the goodness so many people say is there. And maybe along the way, Brent can tell me what really happened. But for months, there's no sign that I'll get an interview. After Brent gets out of prison, he gets a job at a warehouse and is quickly promoted. He also gets a commercial driver's license and runs a transportation company. For a while, he again starts giving back to the community. He works for the United Way and a Baptist pastors association. And Brent Marsh actually volunteers for fema, one of the agencies that came to Noble to help with cleanup at Tri State. By the time I first reach out to him, he seems to have worked his way back to a pretty normal life. I can only hope that McCracken will somehow convince Brent to talk to me, even though I'm not sure McCracken wants him to. In the meantime, I investigate the Question of why without Brent, why he did what he did. And I return to a familiar source, someone who spent more time in this case than anybody.

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[Sean Raviv]

Even after everyone else leaves Noble and returns to the regular beats, Special Agent Greg Ramey of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the GBI, keeps working the crematory case. There are still bodies lingering, unidentified, and Greg doesn't like leaving cases unresolved. Walker county is his home. This all happened just a quick drive from his house. And Greg is continually reminded that not all the families can move on.

[Greg Ramey]

There was a little old lady that, bless her heart, she called up, seemed like every day, you know, they didn't have any children. There was no other folks in their family, just these two little folks, just a sweetheart little couple. The gentleman died and this little lady called every day. If I didn't hear from her every day, I heard from her once a week. Hon, this is so and so. Have you found my husband? I said, no, ma'am, sorry, we haven't.

[Sean Raviv]

Eventually, after a couple years, the old woman stops calling and Greg just assumes she died. Her husband's body is never found. The final body count that the newspapers use is339, but that's really just an estimate, probably an overcount. According to Greg, a lot of the remains on the Marsh family's property are so decayed, mangled and commingled that the number of bodies found just can't be exactly. Parts of one body get mixed with parts of another, especially smaller bones, like from the hands and feet. Two bodies even get switched altogether, given to the wrong families. But Greg eventually sorts it out. The number of bodies identified is a bit more precise. With all the millions of dollars spent in Walker county by all the different agencies who got involved to this day, only 226 of the bodies have been identified, and some people think even that number is off by one or overall. Greg is proud of his work on the case, but he still has regrets.

[Greg Ramey]

I felt like we did a phenomenal job other than in my heart. I wish we could have identified all of those bodies. That would have been my ultimate goal in it. It didn't happen.

[Sean Raviv]

Once they stop IDing bodies, there's another thing to deal with. There are roughly 100 unidentified and unclaimed sets of human remains. What do you do with a hundred bodies with no names? In March 2004, they're buried in separate unmarked graves at a cemetery on a hill in Walker County. The state later spends tens of thousands of dollars to put a memorial in that same spot. The engraved marker includes a passage from Ecclesiastes and a poem about healing. And at the edge of the same cemetery, there are a few unlabeled mausoleums. They're filled with 178 sets of ashes that families abandoned. They sent them in to be tested and never picked them up. I guess those families didn't deem every individual bit of cremains essential to preserving memories, which I found a bit ironic after so much energy and money and emotion had been spent mostly directed at one man for doing something not totally dissimilar. Abandoning remains unceremoniously. I guess what the living owe the dead, like so much else in this world, depends on the person and their feelings at any given moment. And maybe if enough time goes by or enough healing, we owe the dead very little. In this case, the coroner didn't know what else to do with the 178 sets of deserted ashes. So they will probably stay in those unmarked mausoleums forever. The identities of the 100 bodies buried at this cemetery will probably remain unknown. Many years ago, the GBI put up notices on their website with descriptions of the unclaimed remains. And when I last checked, they were still up. So Greg still has unanswered questions about Tri State, but when it comes to the question of why, he's formed a pretty coherent theory. When Ray Marsh became too sick to run the crematory, Brent was in college. You may remember how it was, going to school, first time away from home, becoming your own person. It's a big deal. Especially when you live in a small entangled community where everyone knows your family. That can be smothering, and it comes with expectations. Maybe Brent didn't want to come home.

[Greg Ramey]

I think he got thrust into a business that he didn't want to be a part of. He was kind of like a lay coach here locally, you know, for football teams and stuff like that. He loved being out in the community doing that. I think that was his passion, his love not being involved with dead bodies and stuff. So I think it was kind of getting forced into a business that he didn't want to be in. I think part of that influence may have come from his mother.

[Sean Raviv]

During his time as head of the crematory, Ray Marsh employed his nephew, who helped mostly with the grave digging service. He was Brent's cousin, but 30 years older. And when he found out Brent was taking over the business, he quit. He said he didn't want to work for Brent, a guy so much younger than him.

[Greg Ramey]

So it was more than one guy could handle. And if something's got to, you know, if you've got a funeral service that's due this afternoon, you get those chairs out there, you gotta get that tent up, you gotta get that hole done, you gotta get that vault set. What do you not have to do this afternoon? You don't have to burn that body. So he puts that off. Well, then tomorrow you got one. You've got a funeral service to do tomorrow. You gotta dig that hole. You gotta set that stuff. You gotta move it from over here. Get it over here. Well, I don't have time to start that thing and be there and run that, so I put it off. Well, wait a minute now. I've gotta get this done. I've gotta get something back to them. Hmm. Well, I'll just send them this and they'll never know.

[Sean Raviv]

Brent's civil defense attorney, Stuart James, worked closely for years with McCracken Poston, the ringleader of the Marsh's legal affairs. While McCracken stands by his own theory that Brent was in a fog because of mercury poisoning, that he wasn't thinking clearly and he wasn't himself. Stewart seems to have a different theory on Brent. He agrees with Greg that Brent probably didn't want to take over his dad's crematory.

[Stuart James]

I mean, would you want to burn a body for a living? I wouldn't, but it was a family business, so it wasn't like he was not aware of what was going on in the business. Now, it is true that dad got sick, and I can say generally, I don't know, that he didn't want to come home. Was it a choice that he would make? No. He did it out of duty for family. It fell on him because he was the son and dad was sick and he had to do what was best for his family.

[Sean Raviv]

Stuart and Greg both believe that family played a central role in what Brent did.

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[Sean Raviv]

My producer, Johnny Kaufman, asked Stewart whether Brent ran into any problems or obstacles when he was put in charge of running the crematory. Maybe things his dad didn't have to deal with.

[Stuart James]

I can't answer that question. It's just confidential.

[Sean Raviv]

And here Stewart brings up a statement from a different attorney, a guy who represented more than a thousand families in the lawsuits.

[Stuart James]

He suggested that what Brent did was not any ill will toward anybody, that it's sort of like being in your office. And he didn't quite say it this way, but I will paraphrase it in the way I understand it. You have your inbox, you have your outbox, and what happens is you fall behind and the inbox gets too full and you can't fill the out box. And I will leave it at that.

[Sean Raviv]

The way I interpret what Stewart is saying is that running a crematory, maybe to someone who grew up with one on his property, can be a job just like any other. I've had jobs. Hell, everyone has had jobs where you fall behind, where you fall so far behind that you just can't catch up. And if burning bodies is your job and you get backed up, well, maybe to you it's just a full inbox. It's not the same as falling behind on your TPS reports. But it might feel that way to you. But just because you can twist and contort yourself into believing a scenario where what happened is somewhat understandable, that doesn't mean it's right. And Greg Ramey, for one, doesn't condone what Brent did by any stretch. That said, Greg's more sympathetic to Brent than I would have expected, considering all he put him through as the central investigator on the case. Greg retired from the GBI in 2019. He still lives in Walker County. He spends his time building houses for his two sons. During his career, Greg worked sex crimes, murders and child abuse cases. But the Tri State crematory case is probably the one he'll be remembered for.

[Greg Ramey]

Was his the crime of the century was this just well thought out scheme that, you know, took a mastermind to figure out? No. I mean, he just got. Just didn't do his job, you know. At the end of the day, did he need to go jail? Absolutely. Did he do some horrible, terrible things? Absolutely. Did he hurt and affect thousands of lives? Yes, absolutely. But at the end of the day, this guy wasn't criminal mastermind. Set out to say, oh, you know, I've got this devious mind. Let me show you how I'm gonna, you know, screw Walker county and the rest of southeastern United States and make a name for myself that wasn't that guy.

[Sean Raviv]

And that's probably why, even though Greg knows all the pain Brent caused, he isn't disturbed or angry when he sees him around town, which he does.

[Greg Ramey]

I have no hard feelings. You know, there's no. I mean, my job was to do my job. I did it well, and I never made anything personal out of the cases. You know, it was me doing my job. And unfortunately here, you know, living in a community where you live and grow up at. Sometimes you put friends in jail. Sometimes you put relatives in jail.

[Sean Raviv]

When you've seen Brett Marsh, do you guys say hello to each other?

[Greg Ramey]

If we're close enough to speak, we may. I mean, it's not, oh, hey, how you been? You know, it's just, hi, how are you?

[Sean Raviv]

You know, just like anybody else from the community.

[Greg Ramey]

Just like, yeah, just friendly to anybody.

[Sean Raviv]

Even though he might not show it at the grocery store or wherever he might run into Brent, Greg still shares some of the frustration of the families. He's unhappy with Brent because he hasn't explained why he didn't burn the bodies and why he passed out fake cremains to Greg, it means Brent hasn't fully atoned.

[Greg Ramey]

I think if Brent had come forward and said, hey, look, folks, I was trying to do my dad's business, but it was overwhelming. I didn't want to be in this business. This wasn't what I was interested in. I got forced into it, and it was just more than I could do. And I didn't know what to do. I was trying to preserve my family name. And I'm sorry. Let me tell you, folks will forgive you in a heartbeat. Down here in the South, I think community still, you know, kind of looks and said, well, you did it. We know you did it. You served time for it, but you never. You never owned up. He never manned up.

[Sean Raviv]

You know, Greg told me that there's a lesson from his grandfather that he carries with him that you go to hell. The same for lying as you do stealing and killing. To Greg, a Christian, it means that you might be able to get away with concealing the truth when you're on earth, but when you die, God will judge you. Brent Marsh is probably familiar with that same lesson. He's also a staunch Christian and a pastor at the tiny church and Noble founded by his ancestors. And that's where one Sunday morning, I finally spoke with him.

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[Sean Raviv]

Somewhere in the archives of Stuart James, the civil defense attorney for Brent Marsh, there's a secret document. And in that document is the story, the full story of what happened at Tri State Crematory, which Brent told Stewart when he visited him in jail many years ago.

[Stuart James]

I went over the method and the madness of all of it with him. What his feelings were, why he did what he did, why he didn't do what he did, what happened, where the bodies were, you know, where were they located. I asked for specific factual stuff and I confirmed everything that I knew.

[Sean Raviv]

But even though Stuart told me about this document, he wouldn't give me a copy or even tell me what's written on it.

[Stuart James]

Part of me would love to be able to tell his story. And I don't know what Brent would want to do if I asked him. And I said, do you want to tell your story? And we told him it was safe to do so. I don't know what he would want to do. I've never asked him that story, that K thing. The only thing I can tell you is that he said, brent, you know, if your story has to be told, what are we going to do? And Brent would say, I have to rely on my lawyers to give me advice on that.

[Sean Raviv]

Stuart has a professional obligation to look out for Brent's best interests. And his on the record opinion is that what's best for his client is to keep secret the story on that document, the story of why it happened. Brent got out of prison in 2016, but his punishment hasn't ended. As part of the plea deal, he agreed to never profit in any way off of the crematory story. If he does do something like sell the movie movie rights or write a book and make Money off it, he would have to pay the state of Georgia $8 million. That kind of penalty could make anyone a bit tight lipped. Brent also agreed to serve 63 years probation, making for a total sentence of 75 years, essentially the rest of his life. In April 2023, Brent went before a judge who had the discretion to end Brent's probation. But despite his violation free life since getting out of prison, the judge rejected Brent's request to end his probation. Due to the, quote, particular heinous, gruesome nature of this crime that has affected hundreds of people here in Walker County. McCracken plans to continue arguing for the end of Brent's probation every year until it's granted. I thought I might meet Brent the day of his probation hearing, but when it didn't go their way, McCracken decided it wasn't a good idea to introduce me to his client. And when it seemed like meeting Brent wasn't going to ever happen, in my last formal interview with McCracken, I asked him straight up on the record why Brent had not agreed to it.

[Brent Marsh]

He has been absolute perfect citizen since his arrest and I think he just doesn't want to stir it up.

[Sean Raviv]

And just for the record, the answers to any question to ask you is not going to make us angry or anything like that. But I'm just curious, did you advise him not to talk to us?

[Brent Marsh]

I actually told him because we had just experienced what we experienced in trying to get his probation early terminated. I said, you know, at this point, maybe it wouldn't hurt for people to know your story. And he was pretty resolute. And so I had to tell him, I respect that.

[Sean Raviv]

Do you think that it would do good for Brent to tell his story, to talk about what happened?

[Brent Marsh]

I don't know that it would, you know, it'd be kind of nice for closure for him to do. But he's still on 75 years of probation. He's still working that off. And I would not want to bring the scrutiny and ire of somebody that's going to pop off and try to, oh, he failed to check in. Let's, let's nail him. Let's give him the, he's got 50 more years left. Let's, let's bring him in. But I don't think it's time quite yet.

[Sean Raviv]

It's hard to tell if the Walker county community has moved on. But it's not like you drive through the county and see billboards about Tri State. It's still the sleepy, not quite Mayberry it was Back at the turn of the millennium, and with the abundant space and relatively cool temperatures in the foothills, it still seems like a nice place to live. After all is said and done, I don't think Brent has had a big long term effect on the place. McCracken has maintained a relationship with the marshes even today, but lately he's turned his attention to that other big case of his. To the client who was accused of kidnapping his wife and murdering her. The Zenith Man. His book on that case came out in February, and it's a hell of a true crime story. Without a chance to interview Brent, there will always be gaps in the story of Tri State Crematory. But with everything I've learned, I have a somewhat clear picture in my head, at least of how it started. It's a rainy day in noble in spring 1997. Brent's been running Tri State for a few months. He's in the cramped crematory office, a body sitting nearby waiting to be burned. But Brent doesn't have time for that now. He's getting ready to head north for a funeral in Chattanooga, where he'll spend an hour in the rain, setting up chairs and tents. As he's getting ready to leave, he gets a call from a funeral home. They've got another body for him to cremate and all he can think is shit. So he goes and sets up the funeral, getting soaked in the process. It takes longer than he expects because the ground is rocky and cold. Then he hops in his van, filthy, and picks up the new body, thinking all the way about how he misses school, playing football, going to classes, hanging out with friends. How he never really wanted this job, this life. When he gets back to the crematory building, he sits down alone as usual. He's frustrated. Holds his head in his hands, it's so bad. But when he lifts his head up, he sees a bag of concrete mix that he's using to build a little staircase at the house. And he thinks the same thing I've thought, and the same thing everyone has thought about some job at some point in their life. If they never know, then what's the difference? And that's how it starts. Or at least that's how I imagine it. And when he's arrested five years later, people want to know why, but he never tells them. The only explanation that ever makes sense to me has little to do with mercury poisoning. It has to do with family and legacy, protecting the ones you love. Brent couldn't do the crematory job on his own. And he didn't want to, but he kept putting on a show like he did so the family business wouldn't die. And when he's caught, there's still family to protect. His sick father, his beloved mother, his sister, his wife, and now his two week old baby girl. Maybe keeping his mouth shut is the best way to protect them. Maybe that's what allows his daughter to grow and thrive, to even attend an Ivy League school. Despite being born into the crematory mess, I think the most likely explanation is that Brent is keeping his mouth shut for them. After a few years, the lawsuits mostly wrap up. It's a little complicated, but without admitting wrongdoing, the funeral homes settle with the families for a combined $36.5 million. For the families involved, there are tiers of payment. If your body is found and identified, you get more than someone whose body is never found. The part of the Marsh property where the crematory sits is put under a conservation easement. That means it's still private property belonging to the marshes. But nothing can be built there. A crew comes out one day to demolish the crematory building and haul away the furnace. Stuart James is there.

[Stuart James]

It was the central symbol for why everything happened at the property. Everything about the whole thing was there. Did it work? Did it not work? Was it maintained? Was it not maintained? What was put in there? What was not put in there? If that retort hadn't been there, none of this would have happened.

[Sean Raviv]

The crew brings a backhoe, uses it to tear the building apart piece by piece. And as they work, Brent's mother, Clara Marsh, comes out of the house to see it happen.

[Stuart James]

She walked out and stood right by me watching it go down. And the conversation was something to the effect, well, this means this is finally over. Because that symbol was gone. And I don't think she was sad about it. I think she was glad that she was getting closer to everything that was going on. And, you know, my best guess is that she'll never talk about it. I don't think. I don't think she would ever talk about it. And I won't talk about her feelings in more detail than, except to say that the best thing about it is if she can have closure, I think she's got as much closure as she can get on it.

[Sean Raviv]

And after everything, the Marsh family ends up shockingly well off financially. Their insurance company, Georgia Farm Bureau, is in a bind, needing to defend a client they don't want to defend. And in order to avoid potential liabilities from all the lawsuits, they Negotiate a deal with the Marshes. The Marsh family absolves the Farm Bureau of claims from their homeowners policy covering the crematory suits. And in exchange, the Insurance Co. Pays $3 million for the Marsh's legal defense. The company also creates two separate trusts, one for Clara and one for Brent's children. The Marsh family keeps their homes and property and ends up with $400,000 in trust. They get paid. Where the Marsh name now stands is unclear to me. They've stayed in the land where people once rode go karts and horses, where rays and the lake parties were legendary, and where teenagers danced deep into the night. The lake's been drained for a while now, but Clara still lives on the property and so does Brent. And every Sunday, they go to the church founded by Brent's great grandfather. Brent is now the pastor there. Should make a left, right? Yeah. It's a Sunday morning in early 2024, and my producer Johnny Kaufman, and I are driving to Noble in the direction of New Home Baptist Church, where we hope to meet Brent Marsh and listen to him preach. Do I need to say something?

[Greg Ramey]

Say how you're feeling.

[Sean Raviv]

So nervous. We've been talking about this for months, but, like, the whole time, I knew, like, oh, well, that's something we'll do later. But now it's something we're doing now, and they don't know we're coming. Nobody does. Yeah. We've been told by a friend of the family that the congregation of New Home is small and mostly made up of marshes, almost like a family church. So it feels weird and a little wrong to be going. But we've also been told that anyone is welcome there, and it feels important to go, because all this time, I've vowed to show Brent's humanity, and it's hard without actually meeting him. I think this might be the only way left to do that. On our way to the church, we drive past the company that employs Gerald Cook, the gas man who first reported body parts on the Marsh property. We pass a funeral home that worked with the marshes. We pass a cemetery, and we're ennobled. Now we pull up to the small white church. There are a handful of cars in the lot already. Okay. We're parked in the back of the church by the woods and some grass, and I guess we're just gonna walk in. There's nobody outside, um, greeting people. They probably already started. We get out of the car, and a woman named Joyce opens the church door. We say hi, but then we pause and ask to speak to someone. In charge. She gives us a questioning look, as she should, and says she'll get the pastor. We wait in the entry room while she taps on the shoulder of a large man in a dark suit. I know immediately that it's Brent. He's older, but he looks the same as they did in the pictures from countless newspapers, like the football player he used to be. Shaved head with a beard that now has some gray in it. We say good morning and tell him our names. He introduces himself and shakes our hands. We explain why we're there, that we're the journalists who he's heard about, the ones doing the podcast. He says we're welcome to attend the service, just don't record anything. Johnny takes his microphone bag back to the car and we go into the sanctuary. There are about seven people in the room doing Sunday school, mostly elderly adults. They all smile at us. Johnny and I both white stick out like sore thumbs. Clara Marsh is there. She's 92 years old when she learns that we're journalists. She walks over to us, says she used to be a teacher, that she taught English for 40 years. We already know about her proud past, but we don't tell her that. The service begins a few minutes later, and more very smartly dressed people from Noble come in, until there are about 15 or 20 of us in the pews. Some of them are younger, even a few small kids who wander around the sanctuary, occasionally getting pulled up onto a friendly lap. New generations of Marshes, presumably. Brent is now 50 years old, half a lifetime from the young man he was when he made a tremendous mistake. He gets up to preach. He asked us not to record for the podcast, and so we don't. But one of his relatives made a recording of Brent delivering a sermon right after he got out of prison, right in the same room we're sitting in.

[I]

Hello. Hi. How you doing, Brent? I think I've spoken to everybody here. I think I loved everybody here. I think I had a handshake with everybody here. But I want to talk to you for just a minute.

[Sean Raviv]

Brent asked everyone to turn to the second chapter of Exodus, and it came.

[I]

To pass in those days when Moses was grown, that he went out into his brethren.

[Sean Raviv]

He tells the congregation that today they're going to be talking about Moses. In this story, Moses sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and Moses kills the Egyptian and buries him in the sand to defend his people.

[I]

And when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses.

[Sean Raviv]

When Pharaoh finds out what Moses did, he vows to kill him. So Moses flees in this story that begins with someone committing, I guess, arguably a crime and then burying the evidence, Brent finds a lesson, the ultimate lesson.

[I]

I just want y'all to understand that the Lord is going to put you in some situations. He'll put you in some positions where you're not going to know exactly what you want to do.

[Sean Raviv]

Sometimes God will put you in a tough spot and it might not be clear what the right thing is to do. And Brent tells the new home congregation that that's when it's important to take a step back, to wait for God's guidance so you don't do anything rash, so you do what God would want you to do.

[I]

Is it something that God has put on your heart to do? To do. But if it's something he has not put on your heart to do, don't skip ahead. Wait on his time. Wait on his time for everything that you do. New home. Whatever you think you want to do, do it in his time. Because his time is like no one else's time. His time is always the right time.

[Sean Raviv]

I suspect that Brent Marsh is being earnest when he gives this sermon, but he may be pointing out the irony that he, of all people on this earth, needed to take a step back before he made that watershed decision all those years ago. Johnny and I stay for the whole service. Towards the end of it, Brent prays for us. Most of the congregation approaches us after and thanks us for coming, despite knowing that we're journalists and that we're telling a story about their family that they don't necessarily want told. One woman grabs my hand and says simply, tell the truth. And I think we have. And on our way out of the church, as we walk past Brent Marsh, he tells us to come back again anytime. Noble is a production of Waveland and Campside Media. Noble was reported and written by Johnny Kaufman and me, Sean Raviv. Johnny Kaufman is our senior producer. Sierra Franco is our associate producer. Editing by Jason Hoke, Johnny Kaufman and Matt Scherr. Fact checking by Kalyn Lynch. Sound design, mixing, scoring and original music by Garret Tiedemann. Our theme music is La Lucha es una sola by the band Esmerine. Campside Media's operations team is Doug Slaywin, David Eichler, Ashley Warren, Destiny Dingle and Sabina Mara. Jason Hoke is the executive producer at Waveland. The executive producer producers at Campside Media are Josh Dean, Vanessa Gregoriatis, Adam Hoff and Matt Schaer. Special thanks to Cynthia Marsh Harvey, author of the book Callie's Family, which holds invaluable information on the history of the Marshes and Harold Michael Harvey for his video from New Home Baptist Church. We'd also like to thank McCracken, Poston, Emily Roberts, Miranda Kaplan, Max Blau, Eric Juban, Zabe Bent, Stephanie Wharton, Julie Parker, Johnny Bass, Ron Cordova, Hugh Berryman, Joe Lehman, Brent Hendricks, Tim Mason, Beverly Foster, Dwayne Wilson, Bill Brown, James Bodiford, Elizabeth Cabrazer, Dan Ronan, Roxanne Karimi, Rick Kennedy and Judy O'Neill of UCTV, the home of North Georgia and all the gracious members of New Home Baptist Church in Noble, Georgia. Last we'd like to acknowledge the families and memories of Ira Manus, Luther Mason, Ross Hall, Ron Hendricks, Bobby Crawford, Ray Marsh and all those who were found at Tri State Crematory, known and unknown.

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