Legacy Funerals - Robert Bush Sentancing

[ProphecyGirl]

* I have spelt sentencing wrong I am aware, just unsure how to change

Funeral director Robert Bush will be sentenced this week after pleading guilty to 67 offences spanning 12 years and affecting hundreds of victims. Bush, 48, who ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors, gave grieving families the wrong ashes while their loved ones’ bodies were left at his site for months

He is being sentenced this week, it happened in the city where I live.

Just reading updates on Sky news, is anyone else following? It's absolutely awful.

 

[Miscanthus]

* I have spelt sentencing wrong I am aware, just unsure how to change

Funeral director Robert Bush will be sentenced this week after pleading guilty to 67 offences spanning 12 years and affecting hundreds of victims. Bush, 48, who ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors, gave grieving families the wrong ashes while their loved ones’ bodies were left at his site for months

He is being sentenced this week, it happened in the city where I live.

Just reading updates on Sky news, is anyone else following? It's absolutely awful.

Just press 'report' on your post and ask the mods to change the spelling.

 

[Fauxphiehinchcliffe]

It’s horrific. I can’t understand how it happened. Did he not see what he was doing was wrong? It was only uncovered when he asked another director to
Assist while he was in America.

did he get behind and then wasn’t able to catch up? Was he deliberately defrauding bodies? And what did he think would
Happen to
The bodies just piling up in the building? It’s just barbaric I can’t imagine the pain the families are experiencing.

 

[UsernameBlank]

I’m thinking it was for financial gain but had no actual plan what he was going to do with the bodies. He also kept the charity donations raised at the services and sold funeral plans that were never set up and kept the cash. I also heard that he transferred large sums of cash to the wife’s bank.
Can’t wait for the trial to be over so I can read the full detailed story why he did it

 

[Borrible]

Sounds like something from a horror film, rotting bodies stacked up, more bodies in freezers that weren't switched on. Those poor police officers walking into the funeral home of nightmares.

Spoiler: Distressing - baby loss

And one poor little mite that never made it to full term was found in a bin bag like a piece of rubbish

 

[ProphecyGirl]

Sounds like something from a horror film, rotting bodies stacked up, more bodies in freezers that weren't switched on. Those poor police officers walking into the funeral home of nightmares.

Spoiler: Distressing - baby loss

And one poor little mite that never made it to full term was found in a bin bag like a piece of rubbish

Yes this one really got to me.

All those poor families, not knowing who's ashes they have been given back or scattered. Heartbreaking.

I can't even begin to imagine what kind of sentence he'll be given.

 

[Tangerine Dream]

The details of this are more horrific than one can imaging.

Weeping in the dock, of course, but I suspect only for himself.

 

[Weebles Wobble]

I've been following it recently, but there's a lot I don't understand.

He committed fraud by stealing charity donations and keeping the money for funeral plans. Both are very risky, I would have thought - just takes one family to check with a charity that they'd received the donations to get found out.

But how did he gain anything by not conducting proper funerals? Presumably funerals were held so he'd have to pay the appropriate fees and costs anyway.

 

[Lolly505]

I've been following it recently, but there's a lot I don't understand.

He committed fraud by stealing charity donations and keeping the money for funeral plans. Both are very risky, I would have thought - just takes one family to check with a charity that they'd received the donations to get found out.

But how did he gain anything by not conducting proper funerals? Presumably funerals were held so he'd have to pay the appropriate fees and costs anyway.

I was following along with the BBC coverage of the trial the other day. But it sounds like there were indications they were reusing coffins for multiple people during viewings and possibly funerals. Some families also noted they'd paid for a mid-range coffin but their loved one's coffin during the viewing seemed much cheaper. Some family members had even said that they didn't actually think their loved one was in the coffin during the funeral because something just felt off.

So while they were doing some actual services which will have had costs, they were still clearly pocketing some of the money rather than paying for the expenses the families had been charged for (like coffins, cremation costs, cold storage, etc). They were also charging considerably less for their services than other funeral directors in the area, so they might have only been offering the viewing/wake services and Legacy would 'handle' the actual cremation separately at a later date.

But then they were likely actually just taking a body back out the coffin to reuse it - so say, they'd received payments for 5 different coffins but in reality, they've only ordered 2-3 and reused those while pocketing the rest of the money (meaning you've then got 2 or 3 bodies you can't get cremated because that money's been spent on holidays).

They were skimming off the top but because they were putting on an excellent caring front during these funeral services they did provide, it meant people had enough goodwill not to question things even when they were having issues with collecting ashes, etc.

 

[Weebles Wobble]

I was following along with the BBC coverage of the trial the other day. But it sounds like there were indications they were reusing coffins for multiple people during viewings and possibly funerals. Some families also noted they'd paid for a mid-range coffin but their loved one's coffin during the viewing seemed much cheaper. Some family members had even said that they didn't actually think their loved one was in the coffin during the funeral because something just felt off.

So while they were doing some actual services which will have had costs, they were still clearly pocketing some of the money rather than paying for the expenses the families had been charged for (like coffins, cremation costs, cold storage, etc). They were also charging considerably less for their services than other funeral directors in the area, so they might have only been offering the viewing/wake services and Legacy would 'handle' the actual cremation separately at a later date.

But then they were likely actually just taking a body back out the coffin to reuse it - so say, they'd received payments for 5 different coffins but in reality, they've only ordered 2-3 and reused those while pocketing the rest of the money (meaning you've then got 2 or 3 bodies you can't get cremated because that money's been spent on holidays).

They were skimming off the top but because they were putting on an excellent caring front during these funeral services they did provide, it meant people had enough goodwill not to question things even when they were having issues with collecting ashes, etc.

That makes sense, thanks.
Somewhere I saw a photo of a room where he'd been making coffins himself, using those instead of the more expensive ones people had paid for.

If no-one was present at the cremation, then I can see how he was able to get away with it, and how he benefitted financially.

 

[Tangerine Dream]

He's been given 20 years.

He needs to serve literally every day of that inside for it to be a just sentence. No early release or getting out on good behaviour.

 

[Lolly505]

That makes sense, thanks.
Somewhere I saw a photo of a room where he'd been making coffins himself, using those instead of the more expensive ones people had paid for.

If no-one was present at the cremation, then I can see how he was able to get away with it, and how he benefitted financially.

It's only speculation based on the info that came out during sentencing but, yeah, I suspect it started as fiddling the books and then quickly escalated once he realised he could get away with it.

Some incidents involved him only collecting a person's ashes a few days from the crematorium after he'd already given them 'back' to the family so it's very likely he was also just negligent in that he didn't think it mattered who got what ashes, as long as he was getting paid.

But I get the impression it was pure greed on his part because he clearly didn't expect to be caught after 12 years. Stealing all the charity donations for a few thousand pounds when you've got half a million in your bank account? That's pure greed.

 

[Lukeal70]

I think the trend for Direct Cremations has helped him get away with it.

 

[mousse]

There has been more than one case of funeral directors being arrested for fraud in recent years- where there are vulnerable people there are rum who want to take advantage of them.

 

[UsernameBlank]

I think this man would’ve done anything to keep cash for himself.
Reuse coffins
Keep charity cash
Never set up funeral plans
Never cremated bodies

Apparently he lived in a very nice house in a good area, frequently travelled abroad and lived a very nice life with all the cash from what he did.

 

[UsernameBlank]

He took in over half a million for prepaid funeral plans that he didn’t set up and kept the cash.

 

[Interestingbitsnbats]

Is his workers getting something too surely he didnt work alone

 

[UsernameBlank]

Is his workers getting something too surely he didnt work alone

His daughter assisted him at work….im guessing she gave evidence to not be prosecuted

 

[Interestingbitsnbats]

His daughter assisted him at work….im guessing she gave evidence to not be prosecuted

Sorry but anyone that was doing it with him should be prosecuted. Evidence or not

 

[Ravenstown]

Sorry but anyone that was doing it with him should be prosecuted. Evidence or not

I thought I'd read/ or heard that while he and his daughter were on holiday and he had asked two other independent undertakers to assist if needed (not specifically on site). They were taking or bringing a body to the site where a member of staff blew the whistle and brought them in to see the state of the place. That's when those two undertakers called the police.