Banks County man gets 10 years for concealing his mother’s death

BANKS COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of concealing his mother’s death. Prosecutors presented evidence that Jason Christopher Campbell, 35, burned Marie Campbell’s body in their backyard in January 2025. Superior Court Judge Albert Collier handed down the sentence Oct. 30 after a five-day trial.

The verdict brings renewed attention to the death of Judy Ann Deen in Glynn County. In that investigation, police disclosed that the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office entered into a proffer agreement, with the family’s approval, to obtain information that could help locate Deen’s remains. The Brunswick News reported the disclosure on May 27, citing the police department’s public statement. The published account did not identify the other party to the agreement or say what prosecutors promised in exchange.

The Banks County case

Marie Campbell, 62, lived with her son in Homer and worked at T.J. Maxx in Cornelia. She was reported missing Jan. 6, 2025. Her car, purse, identification and phone were still at home. According to an incident report cited by Now Georgia, Jason Campbell told a deputy that someone he didn’t know had picked up his mother and that he hadn’t heard from her since.

Deputies found a fire and a burned mattress in the backyard. Human remains recovered during the investigation were later identified as Marie Campbell’s. Authorities have not publicly released her cause or manner of death. Her son was convicted of concealing her death and was not charged with causing it.

What police disclosed in Judy Deen’s case in Glynn County, Georgia.

Judy Ann Deen, 74, was last seen at her home in the Touchstone area around Nov. 13, 2025. She was reported missing Dec. 27, and police issued a public alert Jan. 6, 2026. On Jan. 14, police announced they had found remains believed to be hers. In May, the GCPD said it had concluded the investigation and could not link the cause of her death to a criminal act.

Police said critical evidence was no longer available by the time investigators became involved. The investigation included a forensic anthropology examination of Deen’s remains by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The Local Lowdown previously reported that Deen’s daughter was said to have told investigators she burned her mother’s remains in a backyard. We have found no public record of a criminal charge tied to that account. In our earlier coverage, Two Reports. One Death., we also raised questions about a narrative that appeared in one version of a coroner’s report and was absent from the copy released in response to a public records request.

What did the proffer agreement cover?

Georgia law treats concealing a death as a separate felony. Prosecutors must prove that someone concealed the death and, by doing so, hindered efforts to determine whether the person was unlawfully killed. The Banks County jury’s verdict addressed Campbell’s conduct after his mother died.

Glynn County police explained that prosecutors sought an agreement because they needed information to find Judy Deen’s remains. In reality, all they had to do was secure a search warrant for the property and then file criminal charges. Instead, she walked free with zero charges whatsoever.

The terms remain unverified. Did the agreement limit how prosecutors could use the information they received, or did it include a promise not to prosecute?

Did the district attorney’s office separately consider whether the handling of Deen’s remains supported a charge of concealing a death?