A British funeral director is facing a prison sentence over a scandal that saw bodies left “stored on racks” and uncremated while relatives were handed other people’s ashes, sparking calls for better regulation of the industry.
At the start of a five-day sentencing hearing at Hull Crown Court on Monday July 27, prosecutor Chris Paxton said an ex-employee described Robert Bush’s funeral parlour as a “horror scene”.
Police who searched his premises after a tip-off found 31 bodies in a cold storage area that should have been cremated months earlier, including a stillborn baby that had been there for almost two years. They also found more than 100 sets of ashes.
“There were bodies stored on the racks on both sides of the room. The vast majority were uncovered and in varying states of decomposition.”
The 48-year-old undertaker previously pleaded guilty to 67 offences spanning 12 years and affecting hundreds of victims. In his first police interview, Bush said he had developed a cash-flow problem because “people did not always pay,” and he had debts of about £90,000.
He said he struggled with maintaining the payments due for leases, and believed there were about 30 bodies at one site, with five to six of them “recent” and waiting to be cremated.
However, the prosecutor dismissed financial problems as an explanation for what had gone on. Over £3 million ($3.9 million) was paid into the business between March 2017 and April 2024 with a single cremation costing £500 to carry out.“
Mr Bush chose not to deal with those bodies entrusted to him but to operate as he chose and spend the money on himself and others.”Paxton added that Bush had indulged in “profligate personal spending”.
Bush arrived at court with his face covered with a baseball cap and scarf.Jasmine Beverley, whose son Sunny was stillborn in May 2022, said Bush appeared “lovely” and presented himself as “very respectful”.
“It was a shock to learn what had actually been going on behind the closed doors. I discovered that he was still in there almost two years after we’d had the funeral.”
Beverley said Sunny’s remains were found in a brown envelope on the floor even though she believed he had been cremated, describing the discovery as “distressing”.Beverley, her husband, and other families are campaigning for changes to funeral parlour regulations, backed by a number of lawmakers.
Undertakers in England and Wales can operate without a licence, with anybody free to set themselves up as a funeral director. A statutory Funeral Director Code of Practice was introduced in Scotland last March. Bush, who ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, was trusted by bereaved families but mistreated them on an “almost industrial scale,” Paxton said.
Police only began investigating in March 2024 after being contacted over concerns for “the deceased” at the business. The body of Muriel Winning, who died aged 61 in 2023, was found at the premises seven and a half months after her death.
Her son Byron Lill broke down several times as he read out a statement to the court about the impact it had on him.
“I work close to the Legacy premises… and drive past it every day. Knowing now that mum was lying inside for almost eight months destroys me. Why? There will never be a good enough answer.”
The sentencing hearing is expected to hear statements from over 100 victims. Bush has admitted dozens of charges, including preventing lawful and decent burial, theft, and fraud. Four of the fraud charges involved falsely presenting ashes to women as the remains of their unborn children.