Funeral director breached families' trust 'on industrial scale'

A funeral director who failed to bury people and gave out wrong ashes has breached the trust of bereaved families "on an almost industrial scale", a court has heard.

Some 35 bodies and more than 100 sets of ashes were found by police raiding Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull in March 2024.

Owner Robert Bush previously admitted 67 offences, including 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial, and theft from 12 charities.

At the start of his five-day sentencing hearing on Monday, family members watching proceedings at Hull Crown Court gasped and were in tears as details of the "horror scene" at the parlour were described by prosecutors.

This story contains details some might find distressing.

Chris Paxton KC told the packed court bodies had been discovered "on the racks" of a cold storage area and one was found on a stretcher on the floor.

The vast majority were "uncovered and in varying states of decomposition", including one of a stillborn baby.

Bush, 48, was "entrusted by hundreds of bereaved families" but had "breached that trust on an almost industrial scale in a myriad of ways", Paxton said.

Paxton said the scale of Bush's offending was discovered by chance when, while he was on holiday in the US, he asked two funeral directors from another firm to remove a body from a care home.

Patrick Moore, a casual worker at Legacy, had been told by Bush "not to bring anyone back to Legacy", Paxton said.

The court heard the undertakers became suspicious and asked Moore how many bodies were at the site.

Paxton said Moore counted up to 29 bodies and described it as something from a "horror scene", adding: "You two don't know the half of it, bodies have been there for years."

The undertakers were "shaken" and flagged down a passing police car, the court was told.

During searches, officers found a brown paper bag containing a tiny item they initially thought was a baby bird.

They then saw two hospital wristbands wrapped around the waist that read "Baby of Jasmine Beverley, born on 13/05/22 at 05:04", Paxton said.

The funeral home was also described as "dirty and unkempt", with flowers, teddies and cards strewn on the floor - items "loved ones would have wanted" for their deceased family members.

Bush, of Otley, West Yorkshire, was arrested when he landed at Heathrow Airport days later.

He told officers his daughter, with whom he was travelling, was "unaware" of what had happened and said, "I have deceived everyone".

Of the remains discovered at the Hessle Road premises, most were "of older people above the age of 60" and about six bodies were waiting to be cremated.

One of the bodies had been at the site for a year.

Hundreds of victim impact statements are expected to be read over the course of the week.

The first was from Karen King, whose father Norman Bridger's body was recovered 10 months after his death.

Her statement described how she had lockets made for her and her mother containing the ashes given to her by Bush.

"I now feel violated that I have had some unknown person's ashes so close to me," she wrote.

Kathryn Howard, who used Legacy after her 73-year-old partner Jonathan Butler died, told the court her "world fell apart all over again" when she learned his body had been left at the site.

She said an apology "would not be enough for me" and wanted Bush to know that she will "never, ever, get over this".

Byron Lill had to pause at times while he read out his statement. He said his mother Muriel Winning died from cancer in July 2023 and he was given ashes by Bush, which he placed on his windowsill.

"Bush took advantage of us when we were at our most vulnerable. He abused his position of trust. Why?"

Through floods of tears, Christina George read out her statement which detailed how the body of her fisherman brother, Raymond Dagnall, was "left on a rack wearing a soiled hospital gown and still with hospital tubes in his body".

George thought she had scattered his ashes at Bridlington Harbour, as per his wishes, and said the discovery had made "me feel sick and the hairs prickle on the back of my neck".

John Banyard arranged for a cremation and funeral for his 77-year-old friend John Carlill, the £970 cost of which was paid for from the estate.

When he went to see his friend, Bush told Banyard the deceased "didn't look good", so the lid of the casket was kept down.

In a statement, Banyard described the former funeral director as the "lowest of the low".

"Bush shook my hand and was saying 'God bless' to me," he said.

"If you can't trust a funeral undertaker, who can you trust? How can someone be so callous, cold and calculated?"

Reading her statement, Mollie Finn described the devastating emotional and psychological impact of learning the body of her grandfather, Graham Finn, had been found at the home.

"There are no words to fully capture the disgust I feel. Every time I see this case in the news, it feels like an out-of-body experience, like it's not real - like this couldn't possibly be happening to us."

The 23-year-old said she "despised" Bush.

"I hope that for the rest of his life, he is haunted by what he has done."

She added: "Justice must be served, not just for our family, but for every single person affected by this appalling crime."

Jade Munro, whose father Tony Munro's body was recovered four months after his death, told the court she was angered that "there are no regulations in the funeral business".

She quickly became upset as she read out her statement, in which she said: "We've been to hell and back".

The court also heard how families had to go through a second funeral, with several questioning whether it had been legitimate.

The court heard that between March 2017 and April 2024, more than £3m was paid into Bush's accounts. He also transferred more than £879,000 to his wife, who was on the "payroll for tax purposes".

When questioned, Bush told police he had debts of about £90,000, Paxton said.

The prosecutor told the court: "In respect of the older bodies that had not been cremated due to cash flow issues, his plan had been to generate more business and clear the backlog within two to three months."

A single cremation cost about £500, Paxton added, but 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".

"The financial situation within the business was not dire, but likely mismanaged, and the expenditure reflected Mr Bush's priorities and not those whom he was meant to be serving."

The hearing continues.

Listen to highlights fromHull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.