A funeral director is facing sentencing for 67 offenses related to the prevention of lawful and decent burial of 30 bodies and defrauding grieving families. Robert Bush, 48, of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, England, is accused of stockpiling bodies at his business while continuing to accept payments for funeral services. He also allegedly presented dozens of families with the ashes of strangers instead of their loved ones.
During a sentencing hearing at Hull Crown Court, victims shared their harrowing experiences. Tina Thames described discovering that her adoptive father, Jim Porter, who died in January 2024, had not been cremated as promised. His body was found at Bush's premises in March 2024, still bearing hospital identification bands. Thames recounted experiencing nightmares, comparing the situation to "bodies found in Auschwitz."
Kadie Laws, whose father Darren Laws' ashes were among those mishandled, told the court she suffered from nightmares and PTSD. She described a hallucination of her father being accosted by Bush. Jasmine Beverley shared the pain of learning that her stillborn son, Sunny, had been found in a brown envelope at Legacy's premises after she had entrusted Bush with his cremation.
Prosecutors stated that Bush committed fraud in relation to 57 sets of ashes, with 46 families receiving the wrong ashes and 11 families never receiving any. The total monetary value of this fraud was reported to be £86,868. The court also heard about significant personal spending by Bush, including nearly £900,000 paid to his wife, Vikki. Over £3 million was paid into Bush's business and personal accounts between 2017 and 2024.
Bush also reportedly stole from charity collection boxes for organizations like Macmillan Cancer Support and Help for Heroes, which had been placed at services by mourning families. The sentencing hearing, scheduled for five days to accommodate as many of the 226 known victims as possible, is ongoing. The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, is expected to pass sentence on Friday. Bush has been remanded into custody.