Bob Helmsley is a respected community leader and the owner of the Helmsley Crematorium in Amarillo, Texas, that services Texas, Southern Oklahoma, and the northwest region of New Mexico. He is the former coroner in Potter County, Texas, and his wife Susan is a respected member in the community. Susan is the bookkeeper at the crematorium, but neither she nor Bob have any day-to-day contact with business operations, which is currently run by Chip, a long-time family friend and business partner.

An anonymous tip on three separate occasions was reported to the Potter County Sheriffs Department that skeletal remains were seen on the Helmsley property; however, when investigated by the authorities, nothing ever resulted. One day, an unannounced but routine inspection by the Texas Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers revealed a shed stacked with human bodies and an open grave with bodies scattered about the property. There were so many bodies; a federal disaster team was dispatched to aid the state in identifying the remains. Bob, Susan, and Chip were arrested, and ultimately, the investigators discovered four hundred uncremated bodies.