Police fear more victims in Hull Legacy funeral case

Police outside a branch of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors after launching their investigation in March 2024

The detective who led the investigation into Robert Bush fears the disgraced undertaker has committed more crimes "we are completely unaware of".

Bush was sentenced to 20 years in prison for 67 offences relating to Legacy Independent Funeral Directors. The 48-year-old gave families the wrong ashes and kept their loved ones' bodies after their funerals. He also sold fake funeral plans and stole from charities.

Det Supt Al Curtis from Humberside Police said he feared they have "just scratched the surface" of Bush's crimes.

Curtis said "the saddest thing" was that he could not reassure previous customers that Bush "acted wholly appropriately" in relation to their loved ones.

"I just can't, knowing him," said Curtis.

The detective recalled being "hit" by the smell as he first entered the funeral home in Hessle Road in Hull in March 2024.

His team were responding to "vital" information called in by a whistleblower while Bush was on holiday.

Recalling his first steps into the warehouse, Curtis remembered "exchanging a look" with Humberside Police's crime scene manager because, "we knew at that point what we were going into probably wasn't anything like we'd experienced before."

Robert Bush was on holiday in the United States when a whistleblower contacted Humberside Police about his funeral parlour

Police recovered 35 bodies, one of which Bush had kept for a year. They also recovered half a tonne of human ashes.

One of Bush's former casual workers previously told the BBC his employer would turn off the mortuary fridges to save electricity in the face of growing debts.

Curtis described the funeral parlour as "chaotic and extremely disorganised" with half-empty vessels of ashes and the personal possessions of the deceased "strewn everywhere".

There was "clear evidence of human ash" on work surfaces, said Curtis.

It was while examining the clutter that officers found the remains of a premature baby, Sunny Beverley-Conlin.

Sunny's funeral had been held two years earlier and his family given ashes they were told were his.

"It almost broke the officers when they found Sunny on the floor," said Curtis.

Ashes and the personal possessions of the deceased were "strewn everywhere" inside the industrial warehouse that Robert Bush used as a funeral parlour

During a police interview at the start of the investigation, Bush accepted he should have contacted the council's bereavement services when debts began to mount and he found himself unable to pay for cremations.

"I know that this has hurt people," said Bush. "I am so sorry for the hurt caused but I never wanted it to be like this. It wasn't my plan. It was poor choices."

He also offered an apology to bereaved relatives during a five-day sentencing hearing at Hull Crown Court.

In mitigation, his barrister said the defendant did "not seek in any way to minimise what he has done".

"He submits an apology without qualification and he accepts that responsibility," said Richard Wright KC.

"Greed, incompetence and an inability to keep up with his own failings" drove the defendant's crimes, he added.

Today, Curtis remains of the opinion that Bush did not demonstrate remorse.

He said he still does not understand "what's gone on in Robert Bush's head".

Some of the crimes dated back to 2012, when he owned Legacy Independent Funeral Directors.

Prior to that, the 48-year-old had worked for other funeral businesses in the city. He oversaw 2,000 funerals during his career.

For much of the period that he owned Legacy, Bush was a member of the National Association of Funeral Directors - a trade body which states on its website that it "promotes high standards".

But there are no laws regulating the funeral industry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, meaning high standards can be encouraged but not enforced.

The building where the bodies were found was previously occupied by another funeral firm, Heavenly Services.

It was also the subject of a Humberside Police investigation but police said there was no link between the two.

Previous news reports highlighted Bush's debts but Curtis insisted "debt could never be any kind of excuse".

"This investigation, it touched everyone," he said.

If you have been affected by issues surrounding bereavement, information is available via BBC Action Line, including contact details of organisations that can help.