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

The 48-year-old, formerly of Kirk Ella, East Yorkshire but now 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 raided Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull in March 2024. One of the bodies had been there for a year.

Bush stood in the dock as the clerk spent 10 minutes reading out 31 charges. He reportedly clasped his hands in front of him as he said "guilty" to each charge in a quiet voice, flanked by a security guard.

Families of those handled by Bush's business were in the packed courtroom and comforted one another as the names of their loved ones were read out.

The string of offences included presenting four women with ashes he falsely claimed were those of their unborn children.

Prosecutor Chris Paxton KC said there would be roughly 240 victim impact statements given before sentencing. He said: "The fraudulent trading count relates to funeral plans involves over 150 individuals."

Bush's barrister 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."

The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, warned that a prison sentence was "inevitable."

Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Laura Tams said the charges represented "some of the most serious breaches of trust possible in the funeral industry.

She said: "At their most vulnerable time, when seeking dignity and closure for their loved ones, these families were subjected to appalling violations of trust."

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."

Before the hearing, affected families described Bush as "a monster" who had "put us all through hell for his own selfishness."

Karen Dry, who trusted Bush with her parents' funerals in 2016 and 2018, told the Press Association she would never know for certain whether the ashes she received were actually her parents'.

She said: "I've had people ringing me saying, 'I had a tattoo done for my grandma, from her ashes', and it turns out that the ashes that she's now got tattooed are not her grandma's. How do you come to terms with that?"

Michaela Baldwin, whose stepfather Danny Middleton was found at the site months after he was supposed to have been cremated, said: "We put our trust and faith in these people to respect him and do things properly. People say it's just a body - that body represents that person's life."

Tristan Essex, whose grandmother Jessie Stockdale was identified through DNA after her body was found at the premises, said the family had visited the funeral home several times after being told she had been cremated.

He said: "We'd been in there a few times afterwards to get the ashes transferred and the whole time my grandma was there in the back, just rotting.”

Tristan Essex, whose grandmother Jessie Stockdale was identified through DNA after her body was found at the premises, said the family had visited the funeral home several times after being told she had been cremated.

He said: "We'd been in there a few times afterwards to get the ashes transferred and the whole time my grandma was there in the back, just rotting.”

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.”

Bush was arrested at Heathrow Airport on March 10 2024 as he returned from America.

Upon his arrest, Bush was faced with a total of 65 criminal charges, to which he has already 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.

He will be sentenced at Hull Crown Court on July 27.