UK Funeral Director Faces Jail After Bodies Left Uncremated, Families Given Wrong Ashes

A British funeral director is facing a possible prison sentence over a shocking scandal in which bodies were left uncremated for months, while grieving families were handed the ashes of other people, prompting renewed calls for stricter regulation of the funeral industry.

The sentencing hearing for Robert Bush began on Monday at Hull Crown Court in northeast England and is expected to last five days.

Opening the case, prosecutor Chris Paxton said a former employee described Bush’s funeral parlour as “something from a horror scene.”

Police who searched the premises following a tip-off discovered 31 bodies in a cold storage area that should have been cremated months earlier. Among them was the body of a stillborn baby that had remained there for nearly two years.

Investigators also found more than 100 sets of ashes at the funeral home.

“There were bodies stored on the racks on both sides of the room,” Paxton told the court.

“The vast majority were uncovered and in varying states of decomposition,” he added.

The 48-year-old funeral director had earlier pleaded guilty to 67 offences committed over a 12-year period, affecting hundreds of victims.

One of the victims, Jasmine Beverley, whose son Sunny was stillborn in May 2022, said Bush initially appeared “lovely” and presented himself as “very respectful.”

“It was a shock to learn what had actually been going on behind the closed doors,” she told BBC Radio, adding that Sunny’s remains were found in a brown envelope on the floor despite her belief that he had already been cremated.

“I discovered that he was still in there almost two years after we’d had the funeral,” she said, describing the revelation as “distressing.”

Beverley, her husband and several other affected families are now campaigning for tighter regulation of funeral parlours.

According to the prosecution, Bush, who operated Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, abused the trust placed in him by grieving families and mistreated them on an “almost industrial scale.”

Police launched an investigation in March 2024 after receiving reports expressing concern for “the deceased” at the funeral business.

The court is expected to hear victim impact statements from more than 100 people during the sentencing hearing.

Bush has admitted to dozens of offences, including preventing lawful and decent burial, theft and fraud. Four of the fraud charges relate to falsely presenting ashes to women as the remains of their unborn children.