What families told undertaker who lied about bodies and ashes

Families affected by the crimes of funeral director Robert Bush have spoken about the devastating impact he has had on their lives.

Bush, 48, pleaded guilty to 67 offences after police removed 35 bodies and a quantity of ashes from Legacy Independent Funeral Directors, in Hull, in March 2024.

On Monday, Bush arrived at Hull Crown Court for sentencing. The hearing is expected to last five days due to the number of victims who want their voices to be heard.

Families wept in the public gallery as the prosecution outlined how bodies were found in Bush's funeral home, including one on a stretcher on the floor.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find upsetting

• Funeral director breached families' trust 'on industrial scale'
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• Funeral director 'left baby's remains on floor for two years'
• Funeral boss 'abandoned' bodies to 'let nature take its course'

Bush's admissions include 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial and theft from 12 charities.

Families and representatives from some of the charities affected took it in turns during the first four days of the hearing to read out their victim statements in court. Here are excerpts from a selection of them.

"My husband was a proud Hessle Road lad. His final wish was to be cremated at Legacy Funeral Directors on Hessle Road. To him it meant coming full circle."

"My husband was a proud Hessle Road lad. He was born and raised there, worked on the docks and in the fishing industry all his life, and never forgot his roots," Peter Moody's wife, Beverly Jackson, said.

"That community wasn't just where he lived, it was who he was. When we lost him we wanted to honour his legacy in a way that reflected everything he stood for.

"His final wish was to be cremated at Legacy Funeral Directors on Hessle Road. To him it meant coming full circle; beginning and ending his life in the community he cherished.

"Finding out his body was not treated with the respect he deserved is something I struggle to put into words.

"It has shaken our trust in institutions, left us with deep emotional trauma, and reopened our grief in a way that feels even more painful than when we first lost him.

"That pain will never truly go away."

"Months after he'd died, my sister-in-law and children had jewellery made from the ashes they'd received when he died, only to find out it wasn't him."

As well as finding out Bush gave out the wrong ashes for her brother, Leslie Cawood, Lorraine Chaffer said she and her husband, Robert, were also victims of fraudulent trading in funeral plans.

"The plans cost us £1,940 in total and we paid by cash. Because we paid cash, the banks will not refund our money.  I can prove to the bank that I withdrew £3,000 the same day as I didn't know how much the plans would cost. They still will not help us.

"This has clearly had an impact on us both financially and emotionally.  We still haven't replaced the funeral plans as we simply don't have the money.

"I paid for our plans upfront, so our kids didn't have to worry about paying for our funerals.

"I was so mad when we found out that the plans had been sold to us fraudulently.  I couldn't believe it.

"At first this really affected me and affected my sleep. In fact, when I handed that kind of money over to Mr Bush in the first place, I was so nervous about it."

She said Bush had told them at the time "business was booming" and the money was secured with a third party.

"I have had to retire since giving my first statements [to police] as my husband has been unwell and I have to help look after him.

"We're unsure if this is due to stress from losing our money, but it could be a contribution," she added.

She said they had also been subjected to the stress of finding out the family had been given the wrong ashes for her brother.

"Months after he'd died, my sister-in-law and children had jewellery made from the ashes they'd received when he died only to find out it wasn't him.

"Robert Bush has caused so much heartache. It's disgusting what he's done."

"You trust, without question, that the funeral home will look after them with dignity and respect."

"He [Bush] acted so kind, telling us he moisturised my mam with Dove every day to keep her skin soft," recalled Kelly Robinson, in her statement read out in court.

The family had used Legacy for her mother, Sylvia Osler, after she died in 2023.

"Bush was never in the building when we first went to view my mam. We had to wait outside because he wasn't there for our appointment," she said.

At the second appointment, she said Bush "rushed us out, saying he had another family coming soon, even though there were several rooms available".

Kelly said she began to question things when she was able to view her mother.

"She had a bruise on her head that she did not have when she passed. When I asked Bush, he said it would be from transportation.

Kelly said she "no longer believes" her mother was in the coffin at her funeral.

"When a loved one dies, your world falls apart, but the one thing you shouldn't have to worry about is their safekeeping.

"That trust is supposed to be absolute. We believed that. We relied on that, and Bush shattered it."

"We were robbed of having our baby back."

Stacey Foster and her partner, Peter Cooke, trusted Bush with the care of their son, Tommy, after he was found without a heartbeat when she was 17 weeks pregnant.

Hull Crown Court was told of the heartache the family had suffered after being given the wrong ashes, presented in an envelope inside a bag.

According to the prosecution, the family weighed the ashes at home and found they were twice what Tommy had weighed.

The court heard Stacey had a ring made with some of Tommy's ashes and Peter kept some of the ashes in a locket worn around his neck.

Police later found ashes at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors with Tommy's name on them.

The court heard how Tommy's mother received this news from police while seven weeks pregnant with her daughter, Millie.

In her statement, Stacey said: "The heartache that we have gone through is immense.

"Not only have we lost our baby in such devastating circumstances, to be treated in such a way by Robert Bush is beyond words.

"We were robbed of having our baby back with us and Tommy Cooke was robbed of his identity by the complete disrespect shown to Tommy and our situation by Robert Bush."

"I'd been taking care of a stranger's ashes for three years."

"When I received Margaret's ashes in 2021 following the funeral I was relieved to have Margaret home, as I was lost without her," Harry Welsh said.

"We had been together 56 years, and I spent the last seven years caring for her.

"Margaret was my everything. I still talk to her photo every day and tell her what sort of day I've had."

Recalling the moment he was told by police he had received the wrong ashes, Harry said: "I was devastated and in tears. I completely lost it.

"I'd been taking care of a stranger's ashes for three years. I believed it was Margaret and found comfort in talking to her and having her still with me.

"To find out it wasn't my dear Margaret almost destroyed me and still to this day has a huge impact on me emotionally.

"It's hard to put into words my feeling towards this man [Bush] without using bad language.

"We are beyond devasted as a family and cannot believe a person could be so cruel and careless.

"Every time I speak about it, it makes me cry."

"We trusted him with the person we loved most."

Byron Lill's mother, Muriel Winning, died from cancer in July 2023. She was 61.

Byron said his mother believed in life after death and wanted to be dressed in her wedding gown in readiness for meeting her husband David again.

With his wife Helen, Byron "carried out her wishes".

He said: "Helen took so much care bathing her and dressing her. Mum had lost much of her hair through the effects of her chemotherapy treatment and Helen made sure she was wearing a beret hat as she hated to be seen without hair.

"All this care was lost on Robert Bush. All the hard work and tireless care we willingly gave Mum was for nothing.

"She protected us her whole life from mistreatment and it feels that the one time I could repay her and protect her, I couldn't. Bush took this away from me."

He added: "We trusted him with the person we loved most."

"I gave Bush a bottle of port to thank him for taking care of Dad."

Karen King's father, Norman Bridger, was 94 when he died in April 2023.

His body was found at the Legacy premises long after his funeral.

"My lovely Dad lay in a cardboard coffin for almost 11 months," Karen said. "It is beyond belief."

She placed some of the ashes in a "special locket" to treasure and said she now felt "violated".

She also gave Bush a bottle of port "to thank him for taking care of Dad".

"The smile on his face as he accepted will always haunt me," she added.

"I couldn't have been more wrong about a man."

Christina George's brother, Raymond Dagnall, died in July 2023. He was 64.

Christina said her family had used Legacy, their local undertaker, before.

"I had never organised a funeral before and I didn't know where to start, but Bush seemed so helpful and sympathetic.

"It was as if he couldn't do enough for us. He even arranged for Raymond's death certificate to be completed. I accepted everything he told me. I couldn't have been more wrong about a man."

She was horrified to hear how her brother's body had been stored.

"When I found out that Raymond was just left on a rack wearing a soiled hospital gown and still with hospital tubes in his body, the guilt was just too much."

"My sister wasn't just a body."

Sandra Spamer's sister, Maureen Graham, died in August 2024.

After the funeral, Maureen's son received a set of ashes and Sandra "tried to find some comfort" in believing her sister had been "treated with dignity and respect".

Seven months later, that belief was "completely shattered".

Sandra said: "To find out my sister had not been cremated and was found on Legacy premises was extremely distressing and something I still struggle to understand or put into words.

"The shock of that moment is something I will never forget."

Sandra was left with "distressing thoughts" about how her sister was treated.

"My sister wasn't just a body," she added. "She was a loved family member. Knowing how she was treated has affected me deeply."

"He stood smiling when she was still laying there."

Jayne Rimmington's mother, Shirley Ann Wright, died in September 2023. She was 86.

The news that the Legacy scandal involved her "beautiful mum" sent Jayne into "shock and disbelief".

She said: "That shock turned to horror and the horror to upset and anger."

Jayne found out her mother's body had lain at Legacy for almost six months.

"Horrific pictures came into my mind of what she would look like, and they wouldn't go away. They still don't."

She said Bush "seemed such a pleasant and empathetic man".

When Bush gave Jayne her mother's ashes, she asked him why they were so heavy when her mother was so small.

"He said it must be her bone density.

"I accepted what he said. He stood there smiling, handing me the box, when she was still laying there, rotting away."

"He was left in a body bag, on a shelf, to rot."

Nigel Hotham's uncle, Mark Hotham, died in September 2023. He was 87.

"When we were told that they believed Uncle Mark was one of the bodies found at Legacy, my world just fell apart," Nigel said.

"How could someone do that to someone so loved?"

Nigel said his uncle "deserved the utmost respect and dignity", but "was left in a body bag, on a shelf, to rot".

Speaking about Bush, Nigel added: "I feel no compassion for him. I don't care for him. I don't feel sorry for him. I despise him for what he's put our family through."

"We made necklaces with ashes."

Rea Burton's grandfather, David Burton, died in October 2023, aged 75.

The Legacy scandal had left the family "angry, sad and broken", she said.

Bush had put the family at ease "and we believed him to be kind and caring".

After the funeral, the family had necklaces made containing what they thought were his ashes. But four months later, they discovered David had not been cremated.

Six months after his death, his family were finally able to lay him to rest and chose to watch as his coffin was placed into the cremation furnace.

Rea said: "Rob [Bush] had destroyed all our trust and we couldn't bear the thought of leaving him, once again, in the hands of someone else."

More families are due to give statements to the court as the hearing continues later.

"We knew nothing of the donations intended for us but never received from the defendant in this case until the police contacted us."

Sue Lockwood, chairwoman of WISHH - a local independent charity that works solely to raise funds to support Castle Hill Hospital and Hull Royal Infirmary - said Bush's actions risked "undermining the confidence donors have in giving money to charity".

"WISHH takes pride in thanking our donors when funds are received. Without them we have nothing, but we cannot do that if we do not know they have given to us.

"We knew nothing of the donations intended for us but never received from the defendant in this case until the police contacted us.

"We never lose sight of how hard it is to raise funds [and] every single penny raised for us counts."

She said Bush had not only denied the intentions of grieving families, but also those in hospital in need of the benefit of the gift made in memory of a loved one.

"We, and they, deserved better from someone in a position of trust."

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