Robert Bush told scores of families he’d give their loved ones a decent burial or cremation. But we arrested after he mixed up ashes and stacked bodies at his premises in Hull
Families screamed “rot in hell” at funeral fraud monster Robert Bush as he fled the court following his guilty pleas.
“You’re a monster and you still get to walk out of here?” Karen Dry, who will never be sure if the ashes she has at home belong to her mum and dad’s, cried out. Others shouted: “You’re the luckiest man alive! It’s a sad day when you’re walking out of here a free man” and “Wicked b*****d”.
Bush, 48, pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court, to 30 counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors. He also admitted one charge of theft from 12 charities including the Salvation Army and Macmillan Cancer Support. Last October Bush pleaded guilty to 35 counts of fraud by false representation and one charge of fraudulent trading. Four of those families affected were grieving parents, who’d lost a child. Bodies were found stacked at Bush’s workplace and families were given ashes which may not have been their loved ones.
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Bush left court pursued by the victims and escorted by two police officers as he hurried to a waiting taxi. As Bush was driven away by a taxi, his victims continued to shout after him. Victims are now calling for a public inquiry, demanding the Government take action with tougher regulations of funeral directors.
Karen Dry, who has ashes of what are supposed to be her mum and dad at home, said: “There’s a Frankenstein funeral director in every city, just like him.”
Outside court Karen gave a statement as she stood next to other victims, said: “It has been a long hard road for all concerned. When this started we were blindsided. We had no idea to the level of repulsive and sickening findings inside that funeral directors building.
“There is an enduring sense of deep betrayal, emotional stress and damage, caused by this individual, to many families right across this city. From the torment of not knowing whether we have the ashes of our loved ones to families having the trauma of DNA profiling to establish the identity of their deceased loved ones and having the distress of a second funeral.
“This is just the start for us. The start for pushing for legislation to ensure that no funeral director can ever do the same thing, from stealing charity funds at the end of a service, to making sure human cremated remains are returned to families.
“We must ensure none of our loved ones can ever again be held decomposing when indeed families have arranged cremations and the worry caused by the sale of fraudulent and now worthless funeral plans.”
Police found 35 bodies in Bush’s premises on Hessle Road in Hull in total but the crown prosecution gave the go ahead for 30 to be linked to charges. It is believed five may have not met a time threshold. They also found 67 sets of ashes.
Heir hunters were employed to track down the families of people whose ashes were found. On Thursday Bush admitted 30 counts of “preventing a lawful and decent burial of a dead body.”
His final charge was for theft from 12 organisations going as far back as 2017 and including the Salvation Army, MacMillan Cancer Support, the Dogs Trust, Help for Heroes, the RNLI, the Sailors Children Society and Hull Fishing Heritage Charity.
Last October Bush pleaded guilty to 35 counts of fraud by false representation and one charge of fraudulent trading. Four of those families affected were grieving parents, who’d lost a child.
The charges said Bush had “dishonestly made false representations…namely that he would properly care for the remains of the deceased in accordance with the normal expected practices of a competent funeral director.”
The charges dating from 2023 said he failed to ”arrange for the cremation of those remains to take place immediately or soon after the conclusion of the funeral service.
The charges say he presented ashes to the customer saying they were the remains of the deceased person after cremation “knowing that the same was, or might be , untrue or misleading, and intending thereby to make a gain for himself or cause loss to another.”
Humberside Police raided his three business premises after a tip-off with a report of “concern for care of the deceased” in March 2024. A month after the investigation started, the force said it had received more than 2,000 calls on a dedicated phone line from families concerned about their loved ones’ ashes.
