FORT WORTH -- What happened inside the now-defunct Johnson Family Mortuary in East Fort Worth nearly two years ago brought so much pain to so many families.
What happened inside a Tarrant County courtroom Friday aimed to take away some of that pain.
"We don't ever want another family to have to endure what we're enduring," says Felicia Braxton, whose mother's body was cared for by former mortuary owners Dondre and Rachel Johnson.
She still doesn't have her mother's ashes.
Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom Friday, but attorney Alex Kim says his client Dondre Johnson pleaded guilty in nine abuse of corpse cases.
Authorities found decomposing bodies and unidentified ashes inside his funeral home in July 2014. Court documents say the odor of decaying flesh could be smelled all the way from the parking lot of that Fort Worth mortuary, and police observed bodily fluids on the driveway leading into the garage.
Once police got inside, they say they found evidence of insect infestation and fly pupa on or near the corpses. Some of the bodies were mummified. One of those was wrapped in a sheet sitting on top of a coffee table.
Dondre Johnson was already convicted of theft in a separate trial -- for not delivering funeral services he'd been paid for. But Friday, after pleading guilty to misdemeanor abuse of corpse charges, he asked for forgiveness.
"Dondre expressed to me he did want to apologize to the families," Kim says. "He has been wanting to for years now and this is finally the opportunity to do so."
Kia Davis, whose father's remains are still missing, says Johnson's words fell short.
"No punishment is enough, no apology is enough," she says. "We still have a family who's missing their loved ones, we still don't have possession of our father. No apology is enough."
Felicia Braxton is still hoping someone will find her mother's remains.
"If you come across 4065, we'd like to have those ashes please," Braxton says through tears.
Johnson's twin brother Derrick, who's remained silent through the court proceedings, gave us these words as he left court.
"I hope everything comes to an end. I'm ready for it to be over. I hate it for both sides, my family and other families," he says.
Families who are still not whole -- and may never be.
Johnson's attorney says Dondre Johnson's new sentence will be served concurrently with his existing two-year sentence in state jail, with credit for time served.
His wife, Rachel, is currently in federal prison on unrelated charges.
