Hull funeral director pleads guilty after preventing burials of 30 bodies and stealing mourners' donations

The 48-year-old living in West Yorkshire also admitted to one charge of theft from 12 charities, including Macmillan Cancer Support and the Salvation Army.

Police found 35 bodies and over 100 sets of ashes when they conducted a raid of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors' in Hull in March 2024.

This is the latest development in the case, as the funeral director had previously admitted to giving families ashes of strangers and selling fraudulent burial plans, to which he will be sentenced on July 27.

Bush stood in the dock as the clerk spent 10 minutes reading out 31 charges.

The funeral director reportedly clasped his hands in front of him as he said "guilty" to each charge in a quiet voice.

Families of those that had died and been handled by Bush's business, were in the packed court room and comforted one another as the names of their loved ones were read out by the clerk.

Aside entering his pleas, Bush only spoke to confirm his name.

Prosecutor Chris Paxton KC said there would be roughly 240 victim impact statements given before Bush's sentencing, hearing from those who had been affected by the crimes.

He said: "The fraudulent trading count relates to funeral plans involves over 150 individuals.”

Bush's representation, Richard Wright KC, said: "He well understands that there is only one form of sentence in this case, and that will be a custodial sentence.”

Bush's crimes have been described as "some of the most serious breaches of trust possible in the funeral industry” by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Laura Tams, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Robert Bush has pleaded guilty to a number of charges in connection with the operation of the Legacy Independent Funeral Directors premises in Hull.

“These charges represent some of the most serious breaches of trust possible in the funeral industry. They include preventing the lawful and decent burial of bodies, defrauding families who paid for services never provided, returning wrong ashes to grieving relatives, fraudulent trading of funeral plans, and the theft of charitable donations made in memory of the deceased.

“The impact on the families and wider community has been profound. At their most vulnerable time, when seeking dignity and closure for their loved ones, these families were subjected to appalling violations of trust.

“I want to take this opportunity to share my deepest condolences to all those who have been affected. Learning that their relatives’ remains had not received proper care, and that some received the wrong ashes, has caused immeasurable additional grief and trauma."

Senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Alan Curtis, of Humberside Police, said: “The utter devastation and emotional harm Robert Bush has caused to hundreds of victims and families cannot be underestimated.

“They trusted he would look after those who meant the most to them, and that he would treat their loved ones with dignity, respect and in accordance with their wishes. This did not happen."

“The distress and devastation that this has caused for those families is simply unimaginable."

Upon his arrest, Bush was faced with a total of 65 criminal charges, to which he had previously admitted to 35 offences of fraud by false representation.

Initially, he had denied the 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial and one of theft relating to charitable donations.

The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) chief executive Terry Tennens said: “We welcome Bush’s decision to plead guilty, sparing his victims and the Hull community the further distress of a full criminal trial.

“The affected families have suffered unimaginably and deserve to see justice served as swiftly as possible. We also thoroughly condemn his actions.

“They have brought shame to a profession that is overwhelmingly defined by care, dignity and integrity.”