Four bereaved mothers confronted rogue funeral director Robert Bush in court today as he faces jail for giving them the wrong ashes for their unborn babies. Bush, 48, took money for cremations but did not perform them, then handed families somebody else's ashes to cover his tracks as he siphoned off cash.
Mother's anguish over stillborn son
Hull Crown Court heard Jasmine Beverley's stillborn baby Sunny was found inside a paper bag at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors nearly two years after he died. Jasmine said through tears: 'When a parent loses a baby, all they hope for is that their child will be treated with dignity, care and respect. That is why we place enormous trust in the people responsible for caring for our loved ones after death.' She turned to face Bush in the dock, who showed no emotion as she told him: 'I trusted you with the most precious person in my life.'
The court heard the couple visited Sunny at Legacy on June 16 and left him a photograph of the family, a blue fleece blanket and some flowers. A small service took place on June 17 at Legacy's chapel, and the couple understood that Sunny was to be cremated at Chanterlands Avenue Crematorium. They collected his ashes on March 30, 2023, when Bush handed them the little blue coffin and told them that Sunny's ashes were inside in an envelope.
'Living nightmare' for miscarriage victims
Katie Woolston turned to Bush when she suffered a miscarriage in May 2023. The court heard she had used him for a previous miscarriage in March 2020 and first met him when her grandfather died in 2016. Bush promised an urn instead of what he described as 'those awful cardboard boxes', but did not collect the baby's remains from the hospital for several weeks, and Ms Woolston started to feel she was 'being fobbed off'. She collected a box of ashes from Legacy on September 14, 2023, but records showed Bush had not collected her baby's ashes until later that day.
Ms Woolston said: 'Robert Bush made one of the most heartbreaking times of my life even more of a living nightmare.' She was in tears as she told the court: 'The news of what Bush has done to not just me but other parents too, after already going through the traumatic time that the loss of a baby is, really does hurt. I often wonder where my baby's remains are, if they ever made it back to the Legacy funeral home, or if they were simply disposed of like a piece of litter, and those thoughts break my heart.'
Jewellery made from wrong ashes
Stacey Foster and her partner Peter Cooke had jewellery made out of their son Tommy's ashes, only to find out they were the wrong ones. The couple lost Tommy at just over 17 weeks in August 2023. The court heard they were handed a black bag with a Legacy logo on it and were shocked to discover that the ashes were in an envelope inside. Back home they weighed the ashes, and they weighed twice what Tommy had weighed, prosecutor Chris Paxton KC said. 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. Ashes at Legacy were later recovered with Tommy's name on them and returned to the family.
Ms Foster 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.' She fought back tears as she told the court: 'We were robbed of having our baby back with us and Tommy was robbed of his identity by the complete disrespect shown to Tommy and our situation by Robert Bush.'
Empty urn and missing remains
Lucy Ness got in touch with Bush after having a miscarriage in April 2021. He gave her an urn that he claimed contained her baby's ashes, but during the raid at Legacy police found empty packaging labelled as those of her baby. An investigation found that Bush had not collected her baby's ashes from the crematorium until two days after he gave her the urn. The real ashes have never been recovered.
Ms Ness told the court: 'I put my trust in Robert to do the right thing and look after my baby. He has done the lowest of the low. I have now been left with nothing but an empty bag, which once contained the ashes of my baby. I will never know what he has done to them, where they have gone or who they are with. That baby was my hope and I can never forgive him for what he has done. I will never recover.'
Other victims share horror stories
Earlier, the court heard more shocking stories from bereaved relatives whose remains were mishandled. The family of Jim Porter, 80, whose body was found with his hospital identification bands still on his wrists and ankle, noticed at his funeral that his coffin did not look big enough for him. His daughter Tina Thames said: 'When the police told me there was a possibility that Dad was still at Legacy, I was devastated. I had nightmares and thoughts of bodies just piled up came into my mind. The only way I can describe it is like seeing images of the bodies found in Auschwitz during the war.'
Maxine Penrose, who was given the wrong ashes for her brother Paul Hemingway, called Bush 'pure evil'. Ms Penrose said her children had a ring made from the ashes of her father and what they had been told was her brother's. She said in a statement read to the court: 'We now know that my dad is with an unknown person's ashes. This is heartbreaking.'
Kadie Laws sobbed in court as she described shouting 'it better not be my dad in there' when she first heard about the investigation into the Legacy funeral firm. Valerie Coates described to Hull Crown Court how her family held a celebration of her husband Ron's life attended by more than 100 people but 'all that has been reduced to a sick joke, a horror story', because they were given the wrong ashes.
Another victim, Billie-Jo Chapman, said in a statement read on her behalf to court: 'Due to a trial not taking place, we have not received any answers. I would like to know if it is possible to ask Mr Bush a question. The ashes I received in June 2023 were returned as my dad was cremated in November 2023. I would like to simply know if this was my dad. I would like to know if the ashes I have at home are my dad. I feel I need this answer to move forward.'
Bush has pleaded guilty to 67 charges, including preventing a lawful and decent burial and fraud. The five-day sentencing hearing continues.
