ATLANTA (AP) — A former crematory operator accused of dumping 334 bodies on his property and passing off cement dust as ashes has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges in the case, the prosecutor's office said in a letter sent to victims' families.

The letter dated Nov. 10 does not give details of the plea agreement, but a source with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Ray Brent Marsh will be sentenced to 12 years in prison with credit for the roughly seven months he has already served while awaiting trial.

The sentence, which covers all 787 criminal charges against Marsh, will be followed by a lengthy probation period, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The source would not elaborate.

A court hearing to discuss the deal has been set for Friday.

Walker County District Attorney Herbert E. Franklin, whose office sent the letter, and defense lawyer Ken Poston declined to comment.

A judge must approve any deal worked out by the two sides. Leanne Dolin, a clerk to Judge James Bodiford, who has been overseeing the case, refused to comment.

Marsh allegedly stopped performing cremations at the Tri-State Crematory in Noble in 1997, when he took over the family business from his father. In 2002, hundreds of decomposing corpses were found stacked in storage sheds and scattered in woods outside the crematory in rural northwest Georgia. The crematory served funeral homes from Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.

Marsh and dozens of funeral homes that sent bodies to the crematory have already settled a civil lawsuit filed in the case for $80 million.

In the criminal case, Marsh has been charged with theft and abuse of a corpse. If he were to go to trial and be convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to more than 8,000 years in prison.

Attorneys for Marsh had asked Judge Bodiford to throw out the theft charges, arguing that the corpses did not constitute property under the law. The judge refused, prompting defense lawyers to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The appeal, which is still pending, will be dropped when Marsh enters his guilty plea, according to the prosecutor's letter to victims' families.

Anthony Schuchman, 86, of Pittsburgh, whose son's body was supposed to be cremated at Marsh's facility, said he has mixed feelings about the prospect of a guilty plea.

The family buried what they believed were Gilbert Schuchman's ashes. However, following the discovery of the bodies at the crematory, authorities asked the family to dig up the ashes. Tests could not determine if the ashes were Schuchman's remains.

``We'll never have no closure because we don't know if this is him or not,'' Schuchman said. ``I'm not going to put him back in the grave if it isn't him.''

If Marsh follows through and pleads guilty, the letter says, a sentencing hearing will be held Jan. 31, at which time victims' families will be allowed to speak to the court.

``I'm sure a lot of families are going to be verbal at the hearing,'' said Teri Crawford, whose brother was supposed to be cremated at the Tri-State Crematory in February 2001 after he died of cancer. Instead, the Crawford family received fake cremated remains and, like many others, still does not know what happened to their loved one.