There are few more vulnerable moments in life than the days before and after the loss of a loved one. The rituals of farewell surrounding a funeral matter deeply. Hence the horrified public reaction to the crimes of Robert Bush in Hull. Bush was sentenced last week to 20 years in prison for 67 offences including 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial.
When his business, Legacy Independent Funeral Services, was searched, police found multiple bodies decomposing on racks. Bush had returned the wrong ashes to families, stolen money donated to charities and spent more than £42,000 on holidays over 12 years. In court, relatives revealed the distress caused; David Gorbutt, who scattered a stranger’s ashes in place of his wife’s, described feeling “abused”.
