'Monster' funeral director Robert Bush seeks to appeal 20-year prison sentence

The 'monster' Hull funeral director who admitted leaving 31 dead bodies to decompose and handing bereaved families the wrong ashes has lodged an application to challenge his 20-year prison sentence.

Robert Bush, 48, also defrauded 226 people by charging them for funeral plans he was not authorised to set up, and kept the money, which amounted to more than half a million pounds.

At the end of July, he was sentenced for 67 offences spanning 12 years and affecting around 300 victims at his business, Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull.

Humberside Police said it had been notified by the Criminal Appeal Office at the Royal Courts of Justice and added that, "any decision regarding the appeal will be a matter for the courts".

It comes after Bush wrote in August to families impacted by his crimes to express regret and said he was "deeply sorry".

At the week long sentencing at Hull Crown Court in the summer, the court heard that Bush breached the trust placed in him by grieving families "on an almost industrial scale", by keeping bodies for months after they should have been cremated, giving out the wrong ashes, taking money for funeral plans without making any of the arrangements, and stealing charity donations collected at services.

The case was described as the largest and most complex investigation in Humberside Police's history by the force's Detective Superintendent Alan Curtis.

Following the sentence, he said: "We seized just short of 3,000 exhibits, 12,000 items of disclosure, 800 witness statements were taken and over 300 victims affected, but in reality it is impossible to know how many people have truly been affected by this case.

"You cannot go into Hull city centre without bumping into or knowing someone who has been impacted in some way."

On behalf of a number of the affected families, Karen Dry read a statement outside Hull Crown Court after the sentence.

She said: “Finally Mr Bush has been sent to prison. No matter how many years, it will never be long enough for us.”

Ms Dry said the many moving testimonies that had been heard during the week of Bush’s sentencing hearing were a “stark reminder” of the “heinous and egregious acts” committed by a funeral director who acted with “complete impunity for far too long” and she added: “Mr Bush did not make a mistake; his acts were deliberate.”

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After the sentencing, GB News spoke to Joanne Moody, whose father Peter Moody was one of 31 bodies found at Legacy.

She broke down in tears and said: “It’s a joke, he’s going to be out in 10 years.There’s no justice for any of us…we’re not going to get closure.”

Most recently, bereaved mum Jasmine Beverley, whose unborn baby’s remains were found in a paper bag on the floor of Bush's parlour two years after his death, told the BBC she is “troubled” that victims may have to “relive the hurt they have already experienced” in the event of an appeal hearing.

At the sentencing, Prosecutor Steven Ball said the case had a "profound impact on the police investigators who were specially trained to undertake this work".

A statement written by Chief Superintendent Supervisor Colin Jordan said the operation at Hessle Road on 8 March 2024 - when human remains were uncovered. Finding Jasmine Beverley’s baby, who had been left in a paper bag at Legacy for two years, was described as the most upsetting part of the investigation.

Chief Superintendent Supervisor Colin Jordan said: "I find it difficult to put into words the indignity afforded to both those recovered and their families, but more so, the indignity afforded this foetus.

"When it upsets seasoned professionals, with many years of experience in the field of body recoveries, it is clear just how bad the conditions were."

Sergeant Jason Sutcliffe was among the officers who attended the funeral parlour on that day.

He said: "I class myself as a resilient person. Finding the foetus will never leave my thoughts, and I was disgusted and deeply saddened.

"I am due to retire from the police shortly, and I can honestly say that this was probably the worst experience of my career."

Bush will learn if his application regarding his sentence will be heard at the Court of Appeal at a later date.