Heartbroken families broke down in court as they described the devastating moment they discovered their loved ones had been left to rot for months by rogue funeral director Robert Bush.
Some told Hull Crown Court they had unknowingly treasured the ashes of strangers, while others spoke of the agony of learning relatives' bodies had been abandoned in cardboard coffins despite believing they had already been cremated.
Bush, who ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, listened from the dock with his head lowered and showed no visible reaction as victims read emotional impact statements during the opening day of his five-day sentencing hearing.
'He was just forgotten'
Karen King, whose 94-year-old father Norman Bridger's body was recovered from Legacy premises 10 months after his death, said she was haunted by the knowledge he had been left wearing the grey T-shirt in which he died.
She told the court: "My lovely dad lay in a cardboard coffin for almost 11 months. It is beyond belief. I'll never know why. It feels he was just forgotten."
"When the police officers knocked on my door and gave me the news that dad may still be at the funeral home, the feelings I had were overwhelming. My partner, David, and I broke down in tears. How could someone be so cruel? Why would he just leave him there?"
'Not one but two funerals'
Kathryn Howard, whose partner Jonathan Butler's body remained at the funeral home for eight months, said she had been forced to endure "not one but two funerals".
Fighting back tears, she said: "I feel like I've let John down by choosing Legacy, by trusting Rob Bush. I just can't believe what that man has done. How can he hurt people like that? An apology would not be enough for me. It could never take away the pain and grief that I feel for enduring not one but two funerals for my lovely John."
Mother dressed in wedding dress left for seven months
Byron Lill described how his family had carefully dressed his mother, Muriel Winning, in her wedding dress because she believed she would be reunited with her late husband after death. Her body was instead left at the funeral home for seven months.
Mr Lill said: "All the hard work and tireless care we willingly gave mum was for nothing. She protected us her whole life from mistreatment, and it feels that the one time I could repay her and protect her, I couldn't. Bush took this away from me."
Ashes of strangers scattered and treasured
Christina George sobbed as she recalled scattering what she believed were her brother Raymond Dagnall's ashes at Bridlington Harbour, only to later discover he had never been cremated.
She told the court: "Raymond was my brother. He didn't deserve this. I will never forgive Bush for his neglect and complete lack of respect. I try and think of all the good memories I have of us growing up as children together, but I keep coming back in my mind to him laying forgotten on a rack."
Other families described being handed ashes in cardboard boxes and paper bags, being reassured they belonged to their loved ones, only to later discover they were not. David Gorbutt said he had promised his wife Susan he would arrange her cremation quickly because she "did not like the cold". Instead, he learned her body had remained at the funeral home for six months. He said: "This would have been her worst nightmare."
Shirley Wright's daughter Jayne Rimmington said Bush explained the unusually heavy ashes she was given were down to her mother's "bone density". She later discovered her mother's body had never been cremated and was devastated to learn a photograph of dogs, despite her mother disliking them, had been found among her belongings.
'A determined effort to destroy so many lives'
Nigel Hotham, nephew of Mark Hotham, said Bush's actions were "not just an error of judgment". "It feels like a determined effort to destroy so many lives," he said. "You are supposed to trust a funeral director."
John Banyard, who arranged friend John Carlill's funeral, said Bush had shaken his hand and wished him "God bless". He said: "If you can't trust a funeral undertaker, who can you trust? How can someone be so callous, cold and calculated?"
Sarah Gray said her family kept what they believed were her father Terence Buck's ashes at home until police revealed his body was still inside the funeral home. "It's heartbreaking to know the ashes we had cared for in our house weren't my dad," she said.
Rea Burton said Bush had told her he would go and "dig him out" before returning with what he claimed were her grandfather David Burton's ashes. She later learned the family had instead been given the remains of a stranger. "We had mistakenly placed our trust in Rob," she said. "He had abandoned and hidden our loved one for months and had given us a stranger's ashes with a smile on his face."
Calls for regulation
Tony Munro's daughter Jade criticised what she described as a lack of regulation in the funeral industry after her father was found lying on a table rather than in a coffin shortly before his funeral. "It is clear that such a lucrative business should have checks and balances," she said.
Families also described having jewellery made from ashes they believed belonged to relatives, scattering remains at places of significance and carrying lockets containing ashes that were later revealed to belong to someone else. Stephen Perrins' family were devastated to learn he had been removed from the personalised coffin they had written messages on and placed into a cardboard coffin.
Joan Stark's daughter Lynne Jeffries said she had repeatedly chased Legacy for her mother's ashes, only to later discover she had never been cremated. Brian Johnson's daughter Yvonne said Bush had appeared "kind and empathetic" throughout the funeral arrangements. "I recall thinking what a nice man he was and that he was in the right job," she said. "How wrong that turned out to be."
Graham Finn's granddaughter Mollie told the court: "I despise Robert Bush for the pain and anguish he has caused, not only to my family but to so many others. He showed no respect for the dead, no consideration for the living, and no sign of human decency."
Bush's sentencing hearing continues.
