UNION COUNTY, MS (abc24.com) - There are no takers for the body of Adam Mayes, the man who kidnapped two young girls and murdered their older sister and mother.
Almost two weeks after he committed suicide, Mayes' body remains unclaimed.
Family members refuse to have anything to do with his final arrangements, so his body is at the state crime lab in Jackson. If no one claims it, Mayes' home county in Mississippi will have to pay for it to be cremated.
Union County cops have already spent countless hours and dollars in the hunt for Mayes, now this could cost taxpayers even more.
"As long as he's got living family members who are able to afford to bury him, it doesn't fall back on the county to have to bury him," says Union County coroner Mark Golding.
But with two of those family members in jail and the rest washing their hands of him, there's no one left to claim Mayes' body.
"It's just a real bad situation," Golding says. He must now figure out what to do with the remains.
Golding says legally, Mayes' wife Teresa should pay for cremation, but she's in jail.
"It's her responsibility since they were married in the state of Mississippi. She's supposed to be the one to handle the funeral arrangements and bury the body, but at this point with her being in jail we're sort of at a standstill."
That leaves Mayes' four siblings and his father, who's moved to North Carolina.
But Mayes' brother, Johnny Mayes, has publicly said they're shedding no tears for Adam. "We don't even plan on claiming the body. That's...that's just how we feel," he said.
"I know they've got bad feelings toward all this that's happened, but by all rights it's their responsibility to bury this young man," Golding says.
If they continue to refuse, Golding says "there is a possibility if nobody will accept this body it could fall back on my county and we would have to take care of it."
The state can hold Mayes' body up to six months.
If no one steps forward by then, Union County will be forced to cremate. One local funeral home says that would cost around $1,700.
