Key facts
- Robert Bush, owner of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors, pleaded guilty to 67 offenses, including 30 counts of preventing lawful and decent burial.
- Victims described receiving incorrect ashes while their loved ones' bodies were left uncremated and decomposing on the funeral home's premises.
- Police found numerous bodies in various states of decomposition stored on racks, with personal items swept under the floor.
- The remains of an 18-week stillborn boy were also discovered on the premises.
- Families expressed deep distress, nightmares, and PTSD, and called for stricter funeral industry regulations.
Robert Bush, the owner of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, appeared at Hull crown court for a five-day sentencing hearing after pleading guilty to 67 offenses, including 30 counts of preventing lawful and decent burial. Families recounted harrowing experiences in victim impact statements, describing nightmares and PTSD stemming from Bush's actions.
Several family members detailed receiving incorrect ashes from Bush, who they said smiled while handing them the wrong boxes while their loved ones remained uncremated. Jayne Rimmington collected the ashes of her mother, Shirley Wright, who was 86, and was surprised by their weight, with Bush attributing it to bone density. Wright's body was recovered from the Legacy premises five months after her death.
Vicky Mitchell received the ashes of her father, Collin Wainman, in a navy blue box within a Hobbycraft bag. Wainman's body was recovered on March 8, 2024, 198 days after his death. Mitchell described Bush as a "charlatan" who "didn't care."
A search of the Legacy premises by Humberside police in March 2024 revealed numerous bodies in varying states of decomposition, stored uncovered on racks. Personal items intended for the deceased, such as flowers and teddy bears, were found swept under the floor. The recovery of the bodies required two days and involved a disaster identification team, with identification confirmed through dental records, DNA, or fingerprints.
Among the remains found was an 18-week stillborn boy, Sunny Beverly-Collin, whose mother, Jasmine, had believed he had been cremated. Rea Burton, granddaughter of David Burton, recounted Bush deceiving her family by giving them a stranger's ashes for her grandfather, whose body had been hidden for months.
Karen King, daughter of 94-year-old Norman Bridger, placed what she believes were unknown ashes into lockets, feeling violated. She recalled gifting Bush a bottle of port for his work, and his smiling acceptance now haunts her. David Gorbutt received his wife Susan's ashes in a paper bag, and Bush assured him they were correct. Gorbutt scattered them as per his wife's wishes, regretting he could not fulfill her desire to deal with her death quickly due to her dislike of the cold.
Many families have called for stronger regulation of the funeral industry, with one stating it is harder to get permits to serve burgers than to handle the dead.