WHEN the police cautiously opened the door at the back of the funeral home, there was an immediate smell of decomposition.
Inside, they found 35 decomposing bodies, some not even in freezers.
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Saskya Bush, 23, leads the funeral procession – but families doubt whether their loved ones were in the coffin for the funeral Credit: Tim Stewart
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Robert Bush and daughter Sasky at work at the funeral home, where they were supposed to prepare the deceased for a dignified burialCredit: Facebook
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Sasky’s Instagram pictures show her enjoying lunch with friends, on her motorbike at Cadwell Park track in Lincolnshire and on a sunny holiday in Cape Verde Credit: Tim Stewart
Many families of the deceased believed their loved ones had already been cremated at services held at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull.
They now fear the cremations never took place, after detectives told at least one family their relative’s body was still in the house – seven weeks after the funeral service.
Other families say the police requested the ashes they received for DNA testing.
The scene was so horrific that officers had to call in a diving unit experienced in dealing with decomposing remains.
READ MORE ABOUT THE FUNERAL HORROR
The company, which seems to have had financial problems for two years, is run by Robert Bush (46) and his daughter Saskya (23). Both were arrested on suspicion of fraud and preventing a lawful and decent burial and were released on bail.
The couple are avid motorcyclists and own top-of-the-line motorcycles, which are said to have been stored in a garage at the funeral home.
Sasky’s Instagram pictures show her enjoying lunch with friends, on her motorbike at Cadwell Park track in Lincolnshire and on a sunny holiday in Cape Verde.
Robert is believed to have been out of the country when the funeral home was raided.
Donations to charities
Humberside Police, describing it as a “truly horrific incident”, also raided two other salons belonging to the company – one in Hull and another eight miles away in Beverley.
In Britain’s biggest-ever investigation into a funeral home, police last night revealed they had called in the UK’s response to the FBI.
The officers are assisted by experts and advisers from the National Crime Agency, which usually deals with high-profile cases such as drug smuggling and human trafficking.
Police also revealed they had identified all 35 bodies – and notified their next of kin.
Now we wonder if she was even in that coffin
Wendy, cousin of the deceased
The Sun has learned that complaints have also been made about donations to charities collected at services.
The funeral home was on the brink of being struck off the register and wound up within two months if it failed to file its accounts this week. He also faced deletion last year.
According to reports, Legacy is more than £62,000 in debt and has seven outstanding county court judgments, made between 2021 and 2023.
It offered four different funeral packages. The Prestige, with a hand-crafted coffin and Rolls-Royce fleet, which costs £4,999. Traditional service and cremation or burial £2,799. A service in his chapel followed by cremation costs £1,799. And unattended cremation for £970. Cremation can cost undertakers up to £500.
One relative, Wendy Pahlen, told The Sun that police asked her family if her aunt, who she believed had been cremated, had any scars or tattoos as they worked to identify the 35 bodies they found.
Wendy, 52, said: “We had a wonderful service. As we were leaving, we just left the casket there. Now we wonder if she was even in that coffin. They just rang the bell to say the ashes were ready.
“We used Legacy for my mother-in-law seven years ago. We got her ashes back in the correct purple urn with a certificate.
“With my aunt, we only got a small cardboard box with her name, date of birth and date of death.”
Another worrying sign was Legacy’s request to pay the final bill of £1,600 in cash only. Wendy added: “My cousin is in pieces. He is so distraught and devastated because he doesn’t know where his mom is.”
More than 1,500 families have contacted the police helpline since officers first raided the business this week.
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Billie-Jo Suffill, pictured kissing her father’s coffin during the service at Legacy Chapel, said she now wonders if he is in the coffin Credit: Mirrorpix
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Inside the horror funeral home where the owners left 35 bodies to rotCredit: Facebook/legacyfuneraldirectors
A father and daughter team took over the premises in 2010. They were previously used by a company called Heavenly Services, which was also investigated by cops over claims of fraud after it collapsed.
One of his customers was Nikki McLoughlin. When her father, Bernard Skerrett, 78, died in October 2021, she discovered that the plot he had paid £5,000 for in advance did not exist.
The investigation was suspended in October 2021 when Heavenly’s owner Simon Woolston died aged 51. Now questions are being raised about the lack of government regulation of Britain’s £3.1bn funeral industry.
Funeral directors do not have to register with any organisation, although there are two trade bodies. Apprentices only need five GCSEs to enter the profession.
An insider said: “Everyone thinks funeral homes have made a mint during Covid but it’s been the opposite. Legacy was one of those he hit hard. Funeral directors are supposed to issue certificates to families regarding cremations, but not all families involved have received certificates. People don’t realize they should have a certificate because it’s not required for insurance purposes.”
Council officers in Hull and the East Riding, which covers Beverley, are now said to be carrying out inspections of all funeral homes across the area.
As shocked locals continued to leave bouquets outside Legacy’s premises yesterday, distraught relatives heard tales of heartbreak.
‘I was drinking’
Martin Stone, 52, believed his mother Susan’s body would be taken for cremation after about 20 friends and relatives gathered for a service in the lighthouse chapel seven weeks ago.
Police have now told the family that one of the bodies recovered from the building had a hospital tag with Mrs Stone’s name on it – and was not frozen.
The family has not yet received the ashes of the 78-year-old. Martin, who said his mother’s coffin looked “dented” and used, said he was left furious when police called him.
I was furious. Her body has been there for seven weeks. It was just thrown in there and it wasn’t even in the freezer
Martin, cousin of the deceased
He added: “I just wanted revenge for what happened to my mum, it’s disgusting.
“I was furious. Her body has been there for seven weeks. It was just thrown in there and it wasn’t even in the freezer.”
Another woman, who lost her mother earlier this year, told The Sun: “My mum’s ashes are being taken away for testing. I just can’t believe this is happening.”
The mum, who asked not to be named, added: “You trust undertakers.”
Billie-Jo Suffill, 33, lost her father Andy, 52, and brother Dwane, 34, within days of each other in July 2022. The mum-of-three, who was pictured kissing her father’s coffin during a service at Legacy’s Chapel, said now he wondered if it was in the coffin.
She said: “I never saw my dad’s body. I bet it wasn’t even in a coffin, it was empty.
“I got the ashes after my brother’s funeral, but now I don’t even know if they are his ashes, and I never got them from my dad.”
Sheffield funeral director Michael Fogg has been campaigning for regulations and annual salon inspections for 17 years.
He organized a petition for the Government to regulate the sector and limit funeral prices.
Michael told The Sun: “Anyone can set up a funeral home online charging people £950 for a cremation without owning any premises at all. I had these companies calling me asking me to dispose of the body for them, and I absolutely said no.”
He added that funeral directors don’t even have to be members of the respective trade organizations.
He said: “People trust us. Trade organizations clearly have no influence on this industry. It’s voluntary if someone joins.”
Hull MP Emma Hardy also called for licensing.
She said: “After speaking to government ministers, I am now calling for the process of bringing all undertakers under the regulatory system to begin without delay, starting with consultation.
“This would be the first step in ensuring that what happened at Legacy will never happen again.”
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Martin Stone believed his mother Susan had been taken to be cremated after the service in the parlor chapel Credit: BBC
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Police guard funeral home after raid Credit: Getty
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