ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLinsey SmithandKevin Shoesmith,East Yorkshire and LincolnshireTristan EssexTristan Essex says his memories of his nana, Jessie Stockdale, are "tainted" after Robert Bush kept her body for five months after her funeralWarning: This article contains details some people may find distressing.
Tristan Essex says his memories of his nana, Jessie Stockdale, are now "tainted" after funeral director Robert Bush kept her body for five months after her family were told her funeral had taken place.
Bush, who ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, has admitted a series of offences, including preventing the burials of 30 bodies, after police uncovered widespread wrongdoing at the business.
According to Tristan, with the benefit of hindsight, there had been warning signs.
"There was an awful smell in the funeral directors," he recalled. "My grandma was changed into different coffins every time we viewed her, and we obviously picked a specific coffin.
"She was put into larger coffins which were wider, longer, different colours, different trims. She was in at least three or four different coffins.
"We complained because the frill on the coffin was splattered with blood.
"There was black, thick mould around the inside of the coffin as well."
Victims and their families have been waiting for justice since the investigation began two years ago.
Bush, 48, specialised in low-cost funerals and claimed on his company's social media to offer "dignified personal care".
Behind the scenes, officers found a very different picture.
Humberside Police described its inquiry as "complex, protracted and highly sensitive", triggered by a report of "concern for care of the deceased" in March 2024.
Within days, 35 bodies and half a tonne of human ashes were recovered from the firm's premises on Hessle Road in Hull.
The body of Tristan's grandmother, Jessie, was among those discovered.
Tristan, 26, said his family were "knocked off our feet" when they were told Jessie was a victim.
"Thirty-five bodies were found inside Legacy and one of them had an ankle bracelet with my nana's name on," he said.
Bush had been due to stand trial in October, but during a hearing at Hull Crown Court on Thursday he admitted 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial.
He also pleaded guilty to one charge of stealing money from charity collection boxes.
The admissions followed others in October last year, when Bush pleaded guilty to 35 offences of fraud by false representation, relating to the proper care of remains and the return of ashes. Four of the charges related to giving women ashes that he falsely claimed were those of their unborn babies.
He also previously admitted a charge of fraudulently running a business. This related to the sale of funeral plans. There were 172 victims relating to this count alone.
In total, there were 254 victims of Bush's crimes, police said.
Many families were distraught to learn ashes they were given did not belong to their loved ones.
Some had unwittingly worn the ashes of strangers close to their body in the form of specially made jewellery.
One told us how a friend had the ashes mixed with tattoo ink and pushed deep into their skin.
Bush's disregard for the dead and their families did not end there.
More than 1,000 items, including love letters, baby clothes and treasured possessions belonging to the victims were found on the funeral director's premises, a crisis response team told the BBC.
"It was like a hoarder's house," said Kevin Curreri of Kenyon Emergency Services.
The team is typically brought in by governments in the wake of natural disasters, plane crashes and terrorism incidents.
This time, it was appointed by Hull City Council to recover the scene, after police had finished with it.
According to Curreri, human remains and personal possessions had been treated "so disrespectfully" that it showed "a pretty significant breach of trust".
Following the police searches, floral tributes were left outside the parlour.
Some of the notes attached to them demonstrated the unbridled rage felt towards the person responsible for causing this close-knit community so much heartache.
In stark contrast to Bush's large detached home in Kirk Ella – a desirable village in the East Riding of Yorkshire – his funeral business, which opened in 2010, stood in Hessle Road, a working-class street that was once the beating heart of Hull's fishing industry.
Bush hid behind a veneer of respectability, his neighbours painting a picture of a family man who was willing to run errands and help complete DIY tasks for them.
Professionally, too, nothing appeared to be too much trouble for Bush, with some of his customers telling the BBC how he had offered them the chance to pay him in installments when they told him they were struggling to cover a relative's funeral costs.
One woman said Bush had personally bought their funeral flowers when they ran out of money.
"I just felt so grateful," she said. "I didn't ask questions."
Emma Hardy, MP for Hull West and Haltemprice, said Bush had deliberately pushed low-cost funerals at a vulnerable community.
"He pretended he was their friend," she said.
Bush stole an unknown amount of cash from charity collection boxes. The donations, in memory of loved ones, were made at funeral services Bush organised.
Families believed the money would go directly to causes close to their hearts.
Between September 2017 and 6 March 2024, a number of good causes, including the Salvation Army, Macmillan Cancer Support, Dove House Hospice, Help for Heroes, the RNLI and Oakwood Dog Rescue were deprived of their funds.
More than 170 people bought non-existent funeral plans through Legacy, including 70-year-old Kevin Newton.
Kevin said he was "mortified" when he contacted a third-party insurer and was told there was no trace of the plan on its database.
His daughter, Kerry, 36, said: "It's absolutely shocking because it's a lot of money for my dad to fork out and it's not like he can [afford it] again.
Kevin was able to recover the money as he paid using a card.
The funeral business was dissolved at a court hearing in May 2024 with debts of more than £40,000.
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