<P> In early 2002, 334 corpses that were supposed to have been cremated in the previous few years at the Tri-State Crematory were found intact and decaying on the crematorium's grounds in the U.S. state of Georgia, having been dumped there by the crematorium's proprietor . Many of the corpses were decayed beyond identification . Some families received "ashes" that were made of wood and concrete dust . </P> <P> Operator Ray Brent Marsh had 787 criminal charges filed against him . On 19 November 2004, Marsh pleaded guilty to all charges . Marsh was sentenced to two 12 - year prison sentences, one each from Georgia and Tennessee, to be served concurrently; he was also sentenced to probation for 75 years following his incarceration . </P> <P> Civil suits were filed against the Marsh family as well as a number of funeral homes who shipped bodies to Tri-State; these suits were ultimately settled . The property of the Marsh family has been sold, but collection of the full $80 - million judgment remains doubtful . Families have expressed the desire to return the former Tri-State crematory to a natural, parklike setting . </P> <P> The magnitude 9.0--9.3 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a series of lethal tsunamis on 26 December 2004 that killed almost 300,000 people, making them the deadliest tsunamis in recorded history . The tsunamis killed people over an area ranging from the immediate vicinity of the quake in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, and the northwestern coast of Malaysia), to thousands of kilometers away in the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives), the Horn of Africa (Somalia), and the African Great Lakes (Kenya and Tanzania). </P>

Where was the first us cremation carried out