Shaken police officers called to a funeral parlour likened to a 'horror scene' described it as 'strange and weird'. Walking slowly around the Legacy Funeral Services premises by torchlight, the police officers sounded concerned and disturbed by what they saw.
The public-facing front of the building featured a perfectly respectable waiting room and chapel. But the order and dignity turned to chilling chaos and a callous disregard for the dead and the grieving behind the scenes of Robert Bush's Legacy Independent Funeral Directors.
The Discovery
Bags of belongings, screwed up paperwork, charity donation envelopes, old scrap cars, a hearse, car seats and a sink labelled 'dirty area' full of scissors and waste were discovered. Four motorbike leathers were treated with more respect than the dead. In another room was a single comfy chair with a foot rest in front of a screen. Disturbingly families have told of their fears Bush was watching them as they visited their loved ones.
There is also a book about a road trip to America and disturbingly what looked like four motorbike leathers and helmets hanging neatly from the wall. They appeared better cared for than the 35 bodies stored nearby. One even appeared to have Legacy branding on it like some kind of sponsor or advertising. Two motorbikes were found in the workshop of the Hessle Road premises. Angry face car bonnets, often used in stock car racing, were also stored in the vast building, along with superbikes which were pictured in the workshop.
Families' Anger
Katie Woolston, 28, who had gone to Legacy after her fourth miscarriage and now also fears her child was dumped in a bin by Bush, said: "People's loved ones were in the building, so why on earth was he storing motorbikes and cars in there?"
Expert Testimony
Forensic scientist and former funeral director Dr Richard Lloyd told the court during Bush's sentencing for 67 offences that the Hessle Road site was "in a lamentable state." He said there was a "wholly inadequate approach to care for the deceased" at the mortuary. The court also heard there was a large amount of unidentified clothing, which was likely for dressing the deceased, meaning the service was routinely not carried out.
Bush's Boast
During his police interview Robert Bush proudly boasted to police about his chapel at the Hessle Road premises. It was the only neat area along with the kitchen families used for teas and coffees. He told officers: "It seats about 70 people, it's got a lectern, the coffin sits at the front." He described how they had a vicar "the same as a crematorium" and a celebrant with a slide show on a screen. But the police officers who arrived at Legacy March 6, 2024, found behind the spotless and ornate ivory sofa front was a back room scene of horror and chaos.
The Mortuary Condition
They found a large number of human bodies - 17 had putrified - within a dirty cold storage area which had a large sliding door at one end. There was racking along both sides, three racks high with bodies stored on the racks on both sides of the room in an "undignified manner". As the prosecutor said this week: "The vast majority were uncovered and in varying states of decomposition; there was a further naked body lying on a stretcher on the floor. In addition, there was one sealed wooden coffin and four sealed cardboard coffins.
"There was evidence of human putrefaction, visible on the floor, and a mop and bucket in the corner of the room, which contained further evidence of putrefaction. Many of the bodies had hospital identity bracelets on their wrists and/or ankles, some had biological hazard bracelets, while others had no identifying markers."
Dr Lloyd's report on the conditions in the premises detailed how containers of ashes were found all over the premises, with most "stored in an undignified manner". Some were stacked chaotically on shelves or on the floor where damp had caused mould to grow on the boxes. In some instances, ash was found on desk surfaces, in empty and unidentified boxes and, in one room, strewn across the floor.
How Police Were Called
Officers had been flagged down in the street by funeral directors who'd been called in to collect a body for Bush when he was away in the US. Gary Pickering and Steve Emmerson - Directors of Evergreen Funeral Directors were left "shaken" by the discovery which one of Bush's casual workers had told them was like something from a 'horror scene.' "Putting it simply, they were shocked by what they saw…but then saw a passing police car, which they flagged down, and they spoke to PC Crosher. The officer described the witnesses as being shaken as they relayed the details to him," the prosecutor said.
"Three police officers then attended Mr Bush's premises at Hessle Road, where they found a large number of human bodies within a cold storage area of the premises...Many of the bodies had hospital identity bracelets on their wrists and/or ankles, some had biological hazard bracelets, while others had no identifying markers. There was also evidence of personal possessions with some of the deceased and other personal effects on the floor and on shelving."
Families had complained about a bad smell coming from the premises with one relative noticing mould on his gran's coffin. Photographs show one room full of wood cuttings after Bush started making his own PDF coffins to save money.
