Chaos behind the facade
The public-facing areas of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull featured a respectable waiting room and chapel, but behind the appearance of order lay a back room of horror. Police discovered 35 bodies, many in states of decomposition, stored on shelves three racks high in an undignified manner. Seventeen of the bodies had putrefied within a dirty cold storage area. Bags of ashes from more than 100 people were found among rubbish, scrap cars, motorbikes, and wine boxes.
Bush's crimes
Robert Bush, 48, admitted 67 offences including fraud charges for giving families the ashes of strangers and denying 30 people a decent burial. He conned around 200 families out of more than £550,000 through fraudulent pre-paid funeral plans, spending £42,000 on holidays. When police arrived in March 2024, Bush boasted about the chapel: "It seats about 70 people, it’s got a lectern, the coffin sits at the front."
Disturbing conditions
The workshop had a slab, body gurney, and a sink labelled "dirty area" full of waste and scissors. A Christmas tree was among the rubbish. A naked body lay on a stretcher on the floor. The prosecutor told Hull Crown Court: "The vast majority were uncovered and in varying states of decomposition." Four motorbikes, sets of leathers and helmets hung neatly on the wall, appearing better cared for than the bodies. Piles of clothes left for the deceased were found, and a book about a road trip to America was present.
Families betrayed
Katie Woolston, 28, who went to Legacy after her fourth miscarriage, said: "People’s loved ones were in the building, so why on Earth was he storing motorbikes and cars in there?" She fears her child was dumped. Karen Dry, of Cottingham, Hull, said: "He was charming... a consummate professional. But we realised he was actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The truth is you can’t DNA-test ashes. This man has affected hundreds of families."
Discovery and sentencing
The deception was uncovered when funeral directors Gary Pickering and Steve Emmerson of Evergreen Funeral Directors collected a body while Bush was in the US. They flagged down a police car, being "shocked by what they saw". The prosecutor said: "Three police officers then attended Mr Bush’s premises where they found a large number of human bodies within a cold storage area." Containers of ashes were found all over, with mould from damp. Bush made his own coffins from MDF to save money. He will be sentenced on Friday after victim impact statements.
