A 47-year-old man has been charged with 64 offences after 35 bodies and suspected human ashes were discovered at a funeral home where he worked.
Robert Bush, 47, has been charged following a 10-month investigation by Humberside Police, which the force described as “complex, protracted and highly sensitive”.
A probe was launched into Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull after officers received reports of concern for care of the deceased in March last year.
His charges include 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial and 30 counts of fraud by false representation.
Police outside the Beckside branch of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull
PA
He is also accused of two counts of theft from charities between September 2022 and March 2024.
Bush is due to appear at Hull Magistrates’ Court on June 25.
The Humberside police deputy chief constable, Dave Marshall, said: “We have updated the families of the 35 deceased with this development and we have made initial contact with additional victims who have been affected by the investigation and we will be personally in touch with them in the coming days.
“As the investigation now moves into the courts and judicial process, I would please ask people to refrain from any speculation or commenting that could prejudice or jeopardise the case, and to allow those affected to get the answers they desperately need and rightly deserve.
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A probe was launched into Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull after officers received reports of concern for care of the deceased in March last year
PA
“My sincerest thanks go out to those affected for their patience and understanding.
"They have always been the priority and at the very heart of the entire investigation and this will remain, and we would please ask their privacy is continued to be respected.”
The charges related to 254 victims in total - comprising 252 people and two charities.
The force recovered 35 bodies in a raid at the Hull funeral directors in March 2024.
Bush has been charged following a 10-month investigation by Humberside Police,
PA
In April 2024, a month after the investigation started, Humberside Police said more than 2,000 calls had been received on a dedicated phone line with “a significant number understandably concerned about the identification of the ashes of their loved ones”
It was then confirmed by the force that it was impossible to identify any of the human ashes using DNA profile - a fact Marshall said would be “devastating news for families and loved ones”.
A 55-year-old woman arrested in July 2024 has been released with no further action to be taken, police said.
