18 bodies in various states of decomposition were found at a funeral home during the eviction process – Douglas Now

What began as an eviction at Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services in Douglas on Saturday turned into something even more macabre when 18 bodies were found in various states of decomposition at the funeral home. At least one of the bodies was that of a child. There were also two dead pets in the funeral home – a dog and a cat.

The funeral home owned by Chris Johnson, who unsuccessfully ran for coroner in the May election, has been the subject of an investigation for some time. However, the investigations currently underway at the funeral home are not the result of the initial investigation.

Johnson has been in the process of moving the funeral home from its current location on U.S. Highway 441 South to a new building in downtown Douglas for several months. However, the new location is not yet ready for occupancy. In the meantime, the funeral home operated from its original premises.

There have long been rumors of various problems at Johnson Funeral and Cremation Services. This all came to a head this weekend when the current landlord began the eviction process. At that time, bodies were found in the funeral home. The bodies were reported to law enforcement and officers swarmed the funeral home.

In total, they found a total of 18 bodies along with the two dead pets. Some of the people had been deceased for months. The Douglas Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Unit was on scene most of the day Saturday helping to recover bodies. They left the funeral home Saturday around 10 p.m.

Officials are in the process of identifying the deceased and notifying families.

On Sunday afternoon, Johnson was arrested at his home and taken into custody. He is accused of 18 counts of abuse of a corpse.