Inside the Legacy funeral home of horrors
Shocking pictures from inside the Legacy funeral home in Hull show how disgraced director Robert Bush treated the deceased and their grieving families with utter contempt. Bush, 48, is to be sentenced for 67 offences spanning 12 years, affecting hundreds of victims. Hull Crown Court heard he kept 31 bodies at his funeral home while falsely telling families they had been cremated and giving them the ashes of a stranger.
The court heard that Bush breached trust placed in him by grieving families 'on an almost industrial scale' by keeping bodies for months after they should have been cremated, taking money for funeral plans without making arrangements, and stealing charity donations collected at services. Ahead of his sentencing, Humberside Police shared pictures from inside Legacy Independent Funeral Directors on Hessle Road.
Horror behind the facade
The public-facing front featured a perfectly respectable waiting room and chapel. But behind the facade lay a back room of horror and chaos. Among the large number of bodies, 17 had putrefied within a dirty cold storage area. The 35 bodies and the ashes of more than 100 people sat among rubbish, scrap cars, motorbikes and wine boxes. Bush admitted 67 offences, including denying 30 people a decent burial and fraud charges relating to giving families the ashes of strangers.
When police arrived in March 2024, Bush boasted about his chapel, saying: “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. But in the giant back room, bodies were stored on shelves three racks high in an “undignified manner”. The prosecutor told Hull Crown Court: “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 ID bracelets on their wrists and/or ankles, some had biological hazard bracelets, while others had no identifying markers.”
Chaos and neglect
The workshop, with a body gurney and slab, also had a sink labelled “dirty area” full of scissors and waste. Among the rubbish was a Christmas tree. In another room was a single comfy chair with a foot rest in front of a screen. Families have told of their fears Bush was watching them as they visited loved ones. Also at the premises was a book about a road trip to America, motorbikes and four sets of motorbike leathers and helmets hanging neatly from the wall. They appeared better cared for than the bodies or bags of ashes lined up on the floor.
Katie Woolston, 28, who had gone to Legacy after her fourth miscarriage and now 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?” Bush also fleecing around 200 families out of more than £550,000 through fraudulent pre-paid funeral plans, and spent £42,000 on holidays alone. He failed to pass on donations given by relatives to charity.
Discovery and sentencing
The disgraceful scenes were uncovered by funeral directors called in to collect a body while Bush was away in the US. Gary Pickering and Steve Emmerson, of Evergreen Funeral Directors, were so disturbed they flagged down a police car. The prosecutor said: “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 a PC. The officer described the witnesses as being shaken as they relayed the details to him. Three police officers then attended Mr Bush’s premises where they found a large number of human bodies within a cold storage area of the premises. There was also evidence of personal possessions with some of the deceased and other personal effects on the floor and on shelving.”
A report detailed how containers of ashes were found all over the premises, most stored in an undignified manner. Some were stacked chaotically on shelves or on the floor where damp caused mould to grow. In some instances, ash was found on desk surfaces, in empty boxes, and strewn across the floor. Families had complained about a bad smell, with one noticing mould on their gran’s coffin. Photographs show a room full of wood cuttings after Bush started making his own MDF coffins to save money. After harrowing victim impact statements, Bush will be sentenced on Friday.
One of Bush's victims, Karen Dry, told the Mirror the funeral director went quickly from the “consummate professional” to “Frankenstein”. Speaking in a brief film, she said: “He was charming. He was pleasant and very patient, he was a consummate professional. He had a certain pleasantness about him. He had a nice personality. 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. A small village full. There's probably more Frankensteins elsewhere - hiding in plain sight.”
