Families of dozens of Robert Bush’s victims have condemned the sentence he received after bodies were left to rot and the wrong ashes handed out at his Legacy funeral parlour
These are the faces of the victims betrayed by “monster” Legacy funeral director Robert Bush, whose families have been left furious after he was handed a “joke” 20 year sentence for crimes.
Bush, 48, the owner of Legacy Independent Funeral Services in Hull, East Yorkshire, left bodies to rot – including the remains of a miscarried baby – in his mortuary, and gave the wrong ashes to bereaving families, while conning other clients to fund a life of luxury. He pleaded guilty to 67 offences spanning 12 years, including 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial – which affected hundreds of families – and was today sentenced to 20 years behind bars after he abused their trust “on an industrial scale”.
Furious family members condemned the sentence as “atrocious” and a “joke” after 35 bodies and half a tonne of ashes were recovered from the home – with more victims feared.
Hull Crown Court heard that Bush had defrauded nearly 200 families out of £500,000, and acted out of “financial greed” while mishandling victims’ remains and handing out the wrong ashes to their loved ones. Sentencing today, Judge Mr Justice Hilliard said he had “caused anguish and pain on a scale beyond comprehension”.
He said in his remarks that, unless a body was among those recovered and identified by police following a raid on Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull in 2024, people who used the service can’t be “absolutely certain they received the ashes of their loved one”.
Police have been able to identify the remains recovered during that raid, with their family members – up to 300 people – among Bush’s many victims.
Those identities are as follows:
Ashes recovered
- Alan Chearman
- Alan Endall
- Albert Edward Owst
- Andrew Murphy
- Andrew Suffill
- Anne Lillian Marshall
- Annie Kendall
- Anthony Neylon
- Baby Buck
- Baby of Callum and Lucy
- Barbara Stockdale
- Barry Clark
- Craig Moses
- Darren Laws
- Dennis and Eileen Frazer
- Dorothy Curtis
- Gordon Smith
- Hazel Brown
- Joan Sparks
- John and Christine Tibbles
- John Booth
- Leslie Raymond Cawood
- Lilian Carter
- Lisa Urry
- Margaret Ann Welsh
- Margaret Ounsworth
- Mark Meikleham
- Marolyn Sissons
- Martin Sydney Sawyers
- Maureen and Keith Greensides
- Michael Ellam
- Michael Neal Andrew Hall
- Patrick Spriggs
- Paul Hemingway
- Raymond Bullough
- Raymond Parker
- Rita Shaw
- Ronaldo Coates
- Roy Butler
- Shane Atkinson
- Shirley Welburn
- Sylvia Osler
- Thomas Anderson
- Thomas Marritt
- Tommy Cooke
- Valerie Chalkley
Bodies recovered
- Alan Gray
- Audrey Leach
- Brian Johnson
- Colin Wainman
- Danny Middleton
- David Burton
- Graham Finn
- Herbert Jimmy Porter
- Jean Collinson
- Jessie Stockdale
- Joan Stark
- John Carlill
- Jon Butler
- Joyce Moulton
- Julie Webb
- Mark Hotham
- Mary Rhodes
- Maureen Graham
- Muriel Winning
- Norman Bridger
- Peter Moody
- Raymond Dagnall
- Shirley Wright
- Stephen Perrins
- Sunny Beverley-Conlin
- Susan Gorbutt
- Susan Stone
- Terence Buck
- Terence White
- Tony Munro
The court was told relatives of 46 people who were cremated between 2017 and 2024 were given the wrong ashes and the loved ones of another 11 deceased never received any. The court also heard from some of the 226 pensioners who said they had been “conned” out of what little savings they had after being sold fake funeral plans by Bush.
He pleaded guilty to 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial and 30 counts of fraud by false representation relating to bodies found at the site, four “foetus allegations” of fraud, where he presented ashes to women falsely saying that they were “the remains of their unborn”, a further charge of fraud covering the ashes of 57 people between 2017 and 2024, fraudulent trading relating to funeral plans between 2012 and 2024 and theft from 12 charities.
The judge said following Bush’s sentencing today that he had “never known offences affect so many people so deeply”, adding that the ex-mortician “must have a heartless side to him – which allowed him to treat the living and the dead in the way he did, and he was very confident he would get away with what he was doing”.
The judge said: “How betrayed they now feel.” Families remained silent and hugged as he was jailed while Bush simply stood up with his hands clasped in front while leaving the dock.
They hugged and wept after leaving the court, and told the Mirror of their anguish as they reacted to the sentence Bush received. One woman said: “He should never come out again for what he’s done.” Another added: “He’s only going to be 58 when he comes out. It’s a joke.”
Tristan Essex, 26, said: “We’ve been failed again! We’ve waited two and a half years for this!” Michaela Baldwin, whose stepfather Danny Middleton’s body was found at Legacy, said the sheer number of people victimised by him should have warranted at least another decade behind bars for Bush.
She said: “I understand that no matter what the judge would have given him, it wouldn’t be long enough for us, but still 20 years is still… If you think there’s bodies that was involved in this, and that’s less than a year for each.”
“[He should have got] at least 30 – one year for each, at least. I hate him, I’ll always hate him, there’s just so much greed in why he’s done this.” Joanne Moody, whose father Peter Moody was one of the bodies found at Legacy, said Robert Bush’s sentence was “atrocious”.
She said: “It’s a joke, he’s going to be out in 10 years. There’s no justice for any of us, we’re all still going to be kicking around when he gets out. We’re not going to get closure.”
Phil and Jackie Groizard believe they were given the wrong ashes for Mr Groizard’s mother-in-law Carol, and said Bush appeared to have simply scooped some random remains into a bag for them when they inquired. Mrs Groizard said Bush’s sentence was “not long enough.” She said: “He’ll only be 58 when he comes out. He’s got away with it – it should have been life.”
The Government pledged to formally regulate the funeral sector following Bush’s sentencing, with the Department for Health and Social Care issuing a statement announcing the move. A spokesperson said regulation would be a priority “following the harrowing case in Hull”.
Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “In the wake of this horrific case, we will now bring forward comprehensive proposals to ensure respect and dignity for the deceased in every setting, including proper regulation of the funeral sector.”
