This incident has sparked calls for stricter regulation of this sector.
“A scene from a horror movie”
A former employee described Roberto Bush’s funeral home as “a scene from a horror movie,” prosecutor Chris Paxton said at the court hearing.
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Upon receiving the report, officers conducted a search of the funeral home premises and found 31 bodies that were supposed to have been cremated several months ago.
They also found more than 100 urns with ashes.
Most bodies uncovered and in various stages of decomposition
“The bodies were stored on racks on both sides of the room,” the prosecutor said at the Halo Crown Court in northeast England.
“The vast majority were uncovered and in various stages of decomposition,” he added.
48-year-old R. Bush previously pleaded guilty to 67 criminal offenses committed over a 12-year period, affecting hundreds of people.
Jasmine Beverley, whose son Sunny was stillborn in May 2022, said that R. Bush appeared kind and behaved very respectfully.
“I was shocked to learn what was really going on behind closed doors,” she told BBC Radio.
“I found out that he was still there almost two years after the funeral,” she said about her son.
J. Beverley, her husband, and several other families are seeking changes to funeral home regulations.
R. Bush, who ran the “Legacy Independent Funeral Directors” funeral home in Hale, exploited the trust of grieving families but treated them inappropriately “on an almost industrial scale,” said Ch. Paxton.
Officers began the investigation in March 2024 after a person expressed concerns about the company’s operations.
More than 100 victims’ statements will be heard in court.
R. Bush admitted to dozens of charges, including obstructing lawful and decent funerals, theft, and fraud.
Four fraud charges were related to families being given ashes claimed to be those of their cremated stillborn children.
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