Funeral director 'left baby's remains on floor for two years'

Funeral director Robert Bush admitted to 67 offences, including failing to properly store and cremate remains at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull. A tribunal heard that the remains of a stillborn baby, Sunny‑Beverley Conlin, were left on the floor of the parlour for approximately two years before being discovered in March 2024. Jasmine Beverley, the child’s mother, told Hull Crown Court that learning her baby’s remains had been found in a brownish container on the floor “will enactment with maine for the remainder of my life.” Addressing Bush through tears, she said, “I trusted you with the astir precious idiosyncratic successful my life.” The court heard that Bush had given families incorrect ashes or, in some cases, nothing at all. Some 35 bodies and more than 100 sets of ashes were recovered from the premises. Beverley was among several victims who read statements on the second day of the five‑day sentencing hearing. Lucy Ness described receiving an urn containing “wadding and pieces of bone” instead of her baby’s ashes. She stated, “I enactment my spot successful Robert to bash the close happening and look aft my baby. He has done the lowest of the low,” and added, “I person present been near with thing but an bare bag, which erstwhile contained the ashes of my baby.” She continued, “I volition ne'er cognize what helium has done to them, wherever they person gone oregon who they are with. That babe was my anticipation and I tin ne'er forgive him for what helium has done. I volition ne'er recover.” Stacey Foster, whose son Tommy’s ashes were allegedly mis‑handled, told the court, “The heartache that we person gone done is immense.” The proceedings also featured testimony from the family of 73‑year‑old Terence White, whose body was found more than two months after his death on Christmas Eve 2023. His daughter, Angela Scottow, said Bush arranged her father’s cremation but lateration had taken place. She remarked, “Dad was specified a later found no evidence it had occurred. She declared, “Dad was specified a beauteous antheral and Robert Bush treated him similar a portion of meat,” and added, “He knew precisely what helium was doing. He stripped each dignity from our loved ones, and for what? Money? He disgusts me.” Tina Thames, daughter of Jim Porter, described finding her father’s coffin inadequately sized and noted his hospital identification bands remained on his wrists and ankle. She said, “I was devastated. I had nightmares and thoughts of bodies, conscionable piled up came into my mind. The lone mode I tin picture it is similar seeing images of the bodies recovered successful Auschwitz during [World War Two].” Kadie Laws, whose father Darren Laws’ ashes were among those recovered, recalled shouting, “it amended not beryllium my dada successful there” when she first learned of the police investigation. She said, “My household and I are ne'er going to heal from this trauma. I'll ne'er beryllium myself again and that's due to the fact that of Robert Bush.” Kerry Webb recounted how her mother, Julie Webb, Julie Webb’s remains left in the parlour for seven weeks before identification. She asked, “How could idiosyncratic beryllium truthful cruel? Seven weeks of heartbreak, of not knowing if it was genuinely my mum wrong that coffin, of not knowing what had happened to her body, of being terrified that idiosyncratic had wounded her.” The prosecution outlined that Bush gave 46 families the wrong ashes and provided nothing to 11 others. Prosecutor Chris Paxton KC said the fraud totalled £86,868 and that Bush had deceived 226 people who paid for funeral plans, pocketing over £550,000 across an 11‑year period. Shelley Chearman, widowed of Alan, told Bush, “You fooled a batch of radical successful Hull with your mild manner, erstwhile successful information you are a cruel conman. You usage people's grief to money your lifestyle.” Paxton added that bodies were discovered “on the racks” of a cold storage room and one lay on a stretcher on the floor, most in varying stages of decomposition, with the premises described as “dirty and unkempt.” Bush’s crimes came to light after two funeral directors alerted police while he was on holiday. He was arrested upon landing at Heathrow Airport and told officers he had debts of about £90,000. The hearing continues.