A British court on Friday sentenced a funeral home manager to 20 years in prison after convicting him of fraud and breach of trust against families who entrusted him with burying or cremating their loved ones.
Investigations revealed that Robert Bush, director of the Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, northern England, handed over the remains of other people to some families, while dozens of bodies were left neglected inside the home in shocking circumstances.
In one incident, the parents of a stillborn baby received ashes that experts confirmed belonged to an adult, while police found the baby's body inside a paper bag at the home.
The prosecution explained that the case came to light in 2024 while Bush was on vacation, after a temporary employee reported finding bodies that had been left unattended for years. Police later discovered 35 bodies, many of which were exposed and in varying stages of decomposition.
During sentencing, Judge Nicholas Hilliard described the defendant as ruthless, stressing that families could no longer trust that the remains they received belonged to their loved ones.
Last April, Bush pleaded guilty to 30 charges, including denying the deceased a dignified and legal burial and stealing funds intended for charities, after previously admitting to dozens of charges related to fraud and deception over a period of about 12 years.
