Jasmine Beverley became emotional on BBC Breakfast as she described how her stillborn son's body was found at a funeral director two years after his death. She gave birth to Sunny in May 2022 and held a funeral, but in 2024 police told her his body had been kept by former funeral director Robert Bush.
67 charges
Bush, who owned Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, will face sentencing on Monday after pleading guilty to 67 charges. These include prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud, fraudulent trading and theft. He converted an industrial unit into a makeshift chapel.
A report on BBC Breakfast said: "His website promised to care, but he kept 30 bodies, some for months after their funeral services. He presented families with the ashes of strangers, sold fake funeral plans, and stole charity collection money."
MP's response
Emma Hardy, MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, said her "heart goes out" to those affected. She said: "I can't imagine anything worse than going through the pain of losing a baby, only to find out later on that your baby wasn't cremated in the way that you thought it was, and it was just, and it was found in, in his funeral home. I mean, it's beyond horrific."
Laura Tams, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, earlier said: "These charges represent some of the most serious breaches of trust possible in the funeral industry. They include preventing the lawful and decent burial of bodies, defrauding families who paid for services never provided, returning wrong ashes to grieving relatives, fraudulent trading of funeral plans, and the theft of charitable donations made in memory of the deceased."
BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One from 6am.
