UK funeral director admits preventing dozens of burials, theft

LONDON

A funeral director in the UK has admitted preventing the lawful and decent burial of 30 bodies and stealing donations made to charities following a 16-month investigation, police said Thursday.

Robert Bush, 48, pleaded guilty to a further 31 offences, bringing the total number of offences to 67, Humberside Police said in a statement.

At Hull Crown Court earlier Thursday, Bush admitted to the additional charges, including 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial and one count of theft from charities.

He had previously pleaded guilty to 30 counts of fraud by false representation and one count of fraudulently running a business related to the sale of funeral plans.

Police said the investigation began in 2024 after receiving reports raising concerns about the care of the deceased at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors on Hessle Road in Hull.

Officers attended the premises and, over the following days, 35 bodies were transferred to a mortuary, where a formal identification process was carried out.

"It was determined that, of the 35 deceased, only four should have been in situ at the premise, with others being identified as having been there much longer than necessary."

The statement added that forensic teams recovered large quantities of what were believed to be human ashes from the site, some with name labels and letters attached to the containers.

"It soon became apparent as the investigation progressed, that the families of those with name labels or letters providing some form of identification had already received ashes."

In the weeks that followed, forensic specialists worked to determine whether DNA could be extracted from the ashes to aid identification.

Bush was arrested at London Heathrow Airport on March 10, 2024.

Detective Superintendent Alan Curtis said: "The utter devastation and emotional harm Robert Bush has caused to hundreds of victims and families cannot be underestimated."

Laura Tams, deputy chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Bush’s guilty pleas represent "some of the most serious breaches of trust possible in the funeral industry."