Robert Bush, a funeral director in Hull, has been described as running a 'horror scene' after a large number of bodies were discovered at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors. One sergeant was left 'shocked' after opening a paper bag to find a foetus inside.
Prosecuting, Chris Paxton KC revealed that an officer found a bag and initially believed it contained a baby bird, only realising it was a human foetus upon spotting a hospital ID band around the baby's wrist which read 'Baby of Jasmine Beverley' with a date next to it.
Discovery of bodies
Officers further uncovered a naked corpse left on the floor, alongside deceased individuals still bearing hospital ID bracelets on their wrists and ankles. Flowers and teddies had been swept to the sides on the floor.
When Bush was arrested aboard an aircraft upon returning from a holiday in Arizona, he told officers: 'I f***** it all up, everything my whole world.'
Mr Paxton stated that Bush 'breached trust on an almost industrial scale in a myriad of ways' by selling funeral plans without authorisation, neglecting to bury bodies and providing the wrong ashes to grieving families.
Scandal uncovered
The court heard the scandal came to light after two fellow funeral directors and another individual, Patrick Moore, were called upon to assist Bush by collecting a body from a care home during his absence in March 2024. The court was told that Mr Moore had informed the funeral directors that Bush had previously instructed him not to bring anyone back to Legacy.
'He believed it was due to the smells coming from the fridge,' the prosecutor said. He also told them: 'You two don't know the half of it, bodies have been there for years.' He said he counted up to 29 bodies and described it as 'something from a horror scene.'
The directors were 'shocked by what they saw' and flagged down a passing police car and relayed the details, before three officers attended the site.
Condition of the premises
Inside, police discovered 'a large number of human bodies within a cold storage area' in the building, Hull Crown Court heard. The bodies were 'stored on the racks on both sides of the room' and the 'vast majority were uncovered and in varying states of decomposition', he adds. There was 'evidence of human putrefaction.'
'Many bodies had hospital identity bracelets on their wrists or ankles. Some had biological hazard bracelets on, while others had no identifying markers,' he said.
Victim impact statements
As the five-day sentencing hearing got under way, some of the hundreds of victims began delivering their victim impact statements.
Norman Bridger's remains were retrieved from the Legacy premises, in a cardboard coffin, a full 10 months after his passing. His family had already held a funeral service for him, and his daughter, Karen King, had been given lockets by Bush containing what she believed to be ashes, for both herself and her mother.
She said: 'I collected what I thought were dad's ashes around three weeks after his funeral. I put some of them in a special locket for me and mum that we both wore around our necks, it felt important to us both to have dad still close to us. I now feel violated that I have had some unknown person's ashes so close to me. Mum still had what we had believed to be dad's ashes at home with her. It added to our distress having to take them from her. Mum is 94 years old, she is very frail and suffers from dementia and cancer, I haven't been able to bring myself to tell her about what Bush has done to dad.'
Jonathan Butler's remains were retrieved from Legacy eight months following his death. His partner Kathryn Howard paused repeatedly to gather herself while delivering her victim impact statement. '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. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.'
Financial details
Relatives gasped as the court was told Robert Bush had £3.7 million deposited into his bank account over a seven-year period. Yet, the court was informed the turnover reported to HMRC during this time does not correspond with that sum. The prosecutor maintains that the total amount defrauded from clients surpassed £500,000.
Mr Paxton said Bush informed officers he had outstanding debts of approximately £90,000. He said: 'He believed there were around 30 bodies at the Hessle Road site and that five or six of these were recent and in the process of waiting to be cremated. In respect of the older bodies that had not been cremated due to cashflow issues, his plan had been to generate more business and clear the backlog within two to three months. He believed the oldest body that was retained was from April 2023. He said these were generally of older people above the age of 60.'
Mr Paxton stated Bush responded 'no comment' when questioned about whether human ashes were supplied to families of individuals who had not yet been cremated. He said Bush explained that he operated without a system for identifying where bodies were positioned at the premises as he had 'personally retained this information'.
The five-day sentencing hearing continues.
