A mother has described her horror after finding the remains of her stillborn son inside a brown paper bag at a funeral parlour.
Hull Crown Court heard that Jasmine Beverley's baby, Sunny, was discovered in a bag at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors nearly two years after his death. Funeral director Robert Bush, 48, faces jail after pleading guilty to 67 charges, including preventing a lawful and decent burial and fraud. He had taken money for cremations that were not carried out.
Mother's Statement in Court
Jasmine gave a tearful statement in court about the impact of finding her baby's remains. She said: "When a parent loses a baby, all they hope for is that their child will be treated with dignity, care and respect. That is why we place enormous trust in the people responsible for caring for our loved ones after death."
Addressing Bush, she added: "Your actions have taken away something that can never be replaced – the peace of believing our loved ones were treated with care and respect after death. The reality I now live with is that my baby boy Sunny has spent more time in your possession than he ever did with his own family. I have to live with the fact that my son was kept for so long without my knowledge, and that when he was eventually found he was in a brown paper bag on the floor."
Another Family's Ordeal
Stacey Foster and her partner Peter Cooke also shared their experience with Bush. They lost their son Tommy at just over 17 weeks in August 2023. They were given a black bag with a Legacy logo containing an envelope with Tommy's ashes.
Stacey said: "We were robbed of having our baby back with us and Tommy was robbed of his identity by the complete disrespect shown to Tommy and our situation by Robert Bush."
Sentencing Ongoing
Bush has pleaded guilty to 67 charges, including preventing a lawful and decent burial and fraud. The five-day sentencing hearing continues.
