A fraudulent funeral director has admitted to preventing a lawful burial after 30 bodies and a quantity of ashes were discovered at a funeral home in Hull, a case that has shocked the city. Robert Bush, 48, pleaded guilty to the charge at Hull Crown Court on Thursday, having already admitted dozens of fraud counts at an earlier hearing in October.
Police raided the Legacy funeral home on Hessle Road in 2024 over concerns for the care of the dead. Bush faced 67 offences in total and pleaded guilty to all remaining charges. His crimes included stealing from charities such as the Salvation Army, Macmillan Cancer Support, the Dogs Trust, the RNLI, and WISHH, a local hospital charity. He also admitted fraud relating to the ashes of 57 people between 2017 and 2024, and fraudulent trading involving funeral plans from 2012 to 2024.
Four charges involved presenting ashes to women falsely claiming they were the remains of their unborn children. The court heard that Bush was “trusted by people at a time they needed him most” and that he exploited that trust. Mr Justice Hilliard accepted a pre-sentence report was needed, stating that “everybody accepts a custodial sentence is inevitable”. Bush was granted bail under the same conditions as before.
As Bush left court, families shouted at him, accusing him of showing no remorse. One victim, Michaela Baldwin, whose stepfather’s body was found at the funeral home after they had been given what they believed were his ashes, described the wait for justice as “horrible”. She said Bush had “stretched out” the process before pleading guilty, leaving families in agony over Christmas. Her family has since received the correct ashes, and she noted that “luckily they hadn’t done anything with the other ashes”.
Another bereaved relative, Karen Dry, whose parents had funerals with Bush, called for tighter regulation of the funeral industry, saying there was likely “one in every city”. The senior investigating officer, Det Supt Alan Curtis, said the “utter devastation and emotional harm” caused by Bush could not be underestimated. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 27 July, expected to last at least two days, with between 200 and 240 victim impact statements.
