Funeral director Robert Bush is facing sentencing for 67 offenses involving the unlawful storage of 30 bodies and defrauding families who had paid for funeral services. Bush's actions at his Legacy Independent Funeral Directors business in Hull have been described by victims as deeply traumatic, with one daughter comparing the discovery of her father's body to images of those found at Auschwitz.
During a five-day sentencing hearing at Hull Crown Court, accounts from victims detailed the extent of Bush's misconduct. Tina Thames, whose adoptive father Jim Porter died in January 2024, shared her horror after her father's body was found by police in March 2024 at Legacy's premises. His hospital identification bands were still attached. Thames told the court that she had concerns about the coffin presented at the funeral and later experienced nightmares, describing the mental anguish as akin to seeing "images of the bodies found in Auschwitz."
Bush also presented dozens of families with the ashes of strangers instead of their loved ones, or in some cases, provided no ashes at all. The court heard that he committed fraud in relation to 57 sets of ashes, with a total monetary value of £86,868. Kadie Laws, whose father Darren Laws' ashes were recovered from Legacy, reported suffering from nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder, recalling vivid hallucinations of her father.
Jasmine Beverley entrusted Bush with the cremation of her son, Sunny, who was stillborn at 18 weeks. His body was found in a brown envelope when Legacy was raided. Beverley expressed her profound disappointment, stating that she had placed immense trust in Bush to treat her child with dignity and respect.
Investigators discovered that Bush stockpiled bodies while continuing to accept payments from families. He also stole from charity collection boxes intended for organizations like Macmillan Cancer Support and Help for Heroes, which had been placed at services he organized. Financial records indicated that over £3 million was paid into Bush's business and personal accounts between 2017 and 2024, a figure that did not align with reported turnover. The court was also informed of "profligate personal spending" by Bush, including payments of nearly £900,000 to his wife.
Bush has been remanded into custody, and the judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, is expected to pass sentence on Friday. The scale of the offenses and the profound impact on the 226 known victims have led to an extensive sentencing hearing designed to allow as many families as possible to confront Bush in court.