My gran’s body was left to rot by rogue funeral boss & I was given stranger’s ashes – what he did to the dead is wicked

WALKING his Maltipoo dogs at a National Trust park, undertaker Robert Bush appears without a care in the world – but this week faces jail after stashing dead bodies in fridges and mixing up ashes. In exclusive pictures obtained by The Sun, he was seen on a long walk at Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire ahead of a week-long sentencing hearing in which more than 200 victims are expected to give devastating impact statements. Fraudster funeral director Robert Bush pictured ahead of a week-long sentencing hearing Credit: NB PRESS LTD Tristan Essex says his gran was moved between multiple caskets, including a blood-spattered one Credit: Supplied Bush, 47, sympathised as grieving families said goodbye to their loved ones at his makeshift chapel at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull. They believed their relatives would then be taken for cremation but in most cases the coffin was empty and the dead still stored inside fridges and cold rooms. Worse still, some families were given ashes that belonged to others. In Britain’s most horrendous funeral home scandal, the callous conman even stole money donated by mourners for charities and sold funeral packages and burial plots that didn’t exist. Tristan Essex, 27, told The Sun how his beloved grandmother Jessie Stockdale was placed in several different coffins, including one spattered with blood, after her death in November 2023. Tristan said: “We thought my nana had been cremated, and instead she was being left to rot for four months. “She brought me up and we were so close so I went to view her every day and she was being placed in different coffins. “One had frills around the edge, but no plastic lining in it and she was basically lying on bare wood. “Another had blood splashed on the frills and when I asked Robert about it he said he was very sorry but didn’t explain why.” Tristan said he was given Jessie’s ashes in a ‘sweetie jar’ while waiting for an urn they ordered to arrive. He said: “It was full to the brim and in retrospect, there must have been more than one person’s ashes in it. “I bought scatter tubes so other members of the family could have some of her ashes. We obviously had no idea it wasn’t Jessie because her body was still at Legacy. “I kept the ashes on my mantlepiece and was talking away to nana with no idea it was someone else. It’s sickening.” Tristan, along with other families, is unhappy that Bush was the only person charged, but Humberside Police said he was the only one for whom the legal test for prosecution was met. In April, Bush admitted 67 charges including the prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud, fraudulent trading and theft. He was told by Judge Mr Justice Hilliard that he faces jail. He was arrested in March 2024 on an incoming flight to Heathrow after enjoying a holiday in America. Bush ran Legacy, which gave the wrong ashes to families and did not perform cremations Credit: PA Among the victims is Jessie Stockdale, whose ashes were handed to family in a ‘sweetie jar’ Credit: Supplied Bush had debts of more than £50,000 but enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, living in a house in one of East Yorkshire’s most exclusive villages, Kirk Ella. He owned several motorbikes, a Land Rover and enjoyed days out racing around the country. Karen Dry, whose parents’ funerals were handled by Bush and has become a spokesperson for families, said: “The idea that Bush did this because he got into financial trouble is rubbish. “He was a man motivated by greed and didn’t care about those he was meant to give a dignified end. He is a wicked, wicked man. “There were half a tonne of human ashes in that funeral home and some families will never find out if they were given the right remains. “He hasn’t shown an ounce of remorse for what he’s done and didn’t even look at families during court cases. He’s an absolute pig.” Michaela Baldwin said she was stunned by the size of her stepfather Danny Middleton’s coffin when the family held a service at the Hessle Road funeral home. She said a relative even joked that Danny, who Michaela describes as a “large” man, couldn’t have squeezed into the coffin containing his body after his death in November 2023 when he was in his 70s. Mum-of-two Michaela, 36, now knows that in reality, it was most likely an empty casket. Michaela Baldwin believes her stepdad’s remains were never in the coffin she and family visited Credit: Supplied Michaela’s stepfather Danny Middleton on the day he married her mum Credit: Supplied She said: “We were given ashes but they weren’t Danny’s and it’s likely we will never know whose remains we had because the heat of cremation means DNA isn’t available to test. “Bush did this through pure greed. I heard he even had a home gym at the end of his garden. “I don’t think he will ever apologise to the families involved. He’s so self-centred and I really believe this would still be going on now had he not got caught.” Michaela has been left mystified as to why Bush was not remanded in custody after pleading guilty to his sick offences. It’s alleged there are more than 200 victims of Bush Credit: PA The remorseless Yorkshire man is due to be sentenced after a week-long hearing Credit: Instagram She said: “Apparently he wasn’t considered a flight risk and was being a good boy, checking in with police and doing everything he was told. “But look at all the pain he’s caused the families. He’s out walking his dogs like nothing has happened while everyone has to live with what he’s done.” Families are now calling for new regulations around funeral parlours. Funeral directors do not need to register with any organisations, although there are two trade bodies. Apprentices need just five GCSEs to enter the profession. Michaela said: “The truth is it’s easier to open a sandwich shop than it is to operate a funeral business. “