Disgraced funeral boss who failed to bury bodies jailed for 20 years
Robert Bush, a funeral director in Hull, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for failing to bury or cremate bodies and defrauding grieving families. The investigation revealed that he had mishandled dozens of bodies and hundreds of sets of ashes over a 12-year period.
Why it matters
The case exposes a massive failure in the regulation of the funeral industry and has caused profound, lasting trauma to hundreds of families.
Image source, Humberside Police Image caption, Robert Bush "caused anguish and pain on a scale beyond comprehension", a judge said
A funeral director who failed to bury or cremate people and gave bereaved relatives the ashes of strangers has been jailed for 20 years.
Some 35 bodies and more than 100 sets of ashes were found by police raiding Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull in March 2024.
Robert Bush admitted 67 offences, including denying 30 people a decent and proper burial, theft from 12 charities, and fraudulent trading over a period of 12 years.
Sentencing him at Hull Crown Court, Judge Justice Hilliard told the former undertaker he had "caused anguish and pain on a scale beyond comprehension".
This story contains details some might find distressing.
The court heard Bush defrauded nearly 200 families out of £500,000 and had acted out of "financial greed".
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