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Callous funeral director gave families 'strangers ashes with a smile on his face'

Hull funeral director Robert Bush deceived families by giving them strangers ashes with a smile on his face as victim statements were read out in court during his sentencing

[Funeral director Robert Bush ]

Funeral director Robert Bush reportedly gave families the wrong ashes with a 'smile on his face'

Callous funeral director Robert Bush stared impassively ahead as tearful families told a court how he abandoned their loved ones bodies for months and gave them a strangers ashes with a smile on his face.

As a five-day sentencing hearing got under way on Monday (July 27), a judge heard how the horrors at Hull-based Legacy Independent Funeral Directors included bodies left to rot on racks and an unborn baby being found in a paper bag.

Hull Crown Court heard that over 12 years, Bush breached the trust placed in him by grieving families on an almost industrial scale, by keeping bodies for months after they should have been cremated, giving out the wrong ashes, taking money for funeral plans without making any of the arrangements and stealing charity donations collected at services.

The horror at the funeral home was only uncovered after Bush went on holiday and another funeral directors were told by a worker their that the place was like a "horror scene".

[Robert Bush, a funeral director guilty of defrauding and deceiving grieving families]

Bush heard from grieving families he deceived during the first day of sentencing today (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Rea Burton, whose grandfather David Burtons body was recovered from Legacy four months after his death, recalled Bush said he would go and dig him out and, after a lot of rustling in the background, he appeared with a bag.

After being told by Ms Burton that the family were having the ashes put into necklace charms and her uncle was going to have some put into ink for a tattoo, Bush responded that it was a brilliant idea.

Ms Burton said: We had mistakenly placed our trust in Rob. He did not treat grandad with the dignity and respect he deserved. In reality, Rob had deceived us. He had abandoned and hidden our loved one for months and had given us a strangers ashes with a smile on his face.

Shirley Wright, whose body was recovered from Legacy five months after her death, was found with a photograph of dogs.

Her daughter Jayne Rimmington said: This both shocked and upset me. Mum didnt have any dogs, she didnt even like them and we had not left any photographs with her.

Not only had someone elses property been placed with mum, which felt a violation in itself, but another family had given Bush this photograph to be with their loved one and they were left without it.

[Families harmed by Robert Bush outside Hull Crown Court ]

Families impacted by Bush's crimes appeared at Hull Crown Court (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

John Banyard, whose close friend John Carlill was found at Legacy, said: If you cant trust a funeral undertaker, who can you trust How can someone be so callous, cold and calculated?

Amy Leach, whose grandmother Audrey Leachs body was found after she had already been given ashes by Bush, tearfully told the court: I keep thinking, what if the initial cremation had gone ahead?

We would never know if we were getting a person back or if wed been conned with a handful of gravel.

I know that were lucky that we know exactly where grandma was and exactly where she is now. Others dont have that privilege and will never know.

The family of Hilda Mary Rhodes had jewellery made out of some of the ashes, which turned out to be the wrong ones.

Her daughter, Sarah Hepple, said: For months, weve all carried a little piece of my mum round with us, only to then find out that what we had was a total stranger.

The court heard that Bushs crimes were discovered by chance, when he was on holiday in Arizona and contacted Gary Pickering and Steve Emmerson, directors of Evergreen Funeral Directors, asking them to assist with a body recovery whilst he was away.

Patrick Moore a casual worker for Legacy helped the two men collect the body from the care home, but said Bush had told him not to bring anyone back to Legacy or help put a body into the fridge area.

The court heard Mr Moore then told the men: You two dont know the half of it, bodies have been there for years.

After becoming suspicious that operations at Legacy were not as they should be, Mr Emmerson telephoned Mr Moore and asked how many bodies were there. Mr Moore counted up to 29 bodies, describing it as being something from a horror scene.

The court heard Mr Emmerson and Mr Pickering persuaded Mr Moore to let them into Legacys site on Hessle Road, despite him initially being afraid of repercussions.

The two men were shocked at what they saw at Legacy and flagged down a passing police car to report it.

During the search, a police officer found a brown paper bag containing a tiny item which he initially thought was a baby bird, but had two hospital wristbands wrapped around the waist with the words, Baby of Jasmine Beverley, born on 13/05/22 at 05:04.

The court heard that between March 2017 and April 2024, more than 3 million was paid into his business and personal accounts but the turnover reported to HMRC in these years does not reflect this.

During this time, Bushs profligate personal spending and transfers to his wife, Vikki Bush, account for 879,655.94, Mr Paxton said.

He told the court: The financial situation within the business was not dire, but likely mismanaged, and the expenditure reflected Mr Bushs priorities and not those whom he was meant to be serving.

For all of Mr Bushs claims about his finances, it should be borne in mind that the cost of a single cremation was around 500, and yet Mr Bush chose not to deal with those bodies entrusted to him but to operate as he chose and spend the money on himself and others.

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