A woman whose father was found at a Hull undertaker's three months after his funeral has said the ordeal has “crucified” her. Joanne Moody said the two-year experience has left her broken after the body of Peter Moody, 65, was discovered by police at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in March 2024 alongside 34 others and more than 100 sets of ashes.
Former funeral director Robert Bush, 48, of Otley, West Yorkshire, is due to appear at Hull Crown Court later for sentencing after admitting 67 offences, including 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial. One of the bodies recovered at the premises had been there for a year.
Peter Moody's daughter, Joanne Moody, 48, who is expected to join other families wronged by Bush in the court's public gallery, said Bush had shown no sign of remorse. She said the experience had been devastating and that she wanted to see him held to account.
“It's broke me, it's crucified me. He has shown no remorse. No sympathy.”
In addition to preventing lawful and decent burials, Bush previously pleaded guilty to 35 counts of fraud by false representation and another of fraudulently running a business, relating to the sale of funeral plans. He also admitted one count of theft, which related to money stolen from collections intended for 12 charities, including the Salvation Army and Macmillan Cancer Support as well as local causes.
After entering his final guilty pleas in April, Bush was granted conditional bail, a move that caused further anguish among affected families. Moody said she would “sleep easier” knowing he would pay for his crimes and said the legal process marked an important point in the family's recovery.
“It's a pivotal point in our recovery knowing that justice is being done,” she said.
Moody said she could now begin remembering her father as he was, rather than thinking about Bush walking the streets. She said she was no longer able to cry.
“I can't cry any more,” she added.
She described her father as a “dedicated” family man who enjoyed fishing, Hull FC and spending time with his grandchildren. Moody said Bush's guilty pleas had brought her some peace of mind and that her father was a person, not a number or statistic.
“My dad was a person, he was not just a number or a statistic,” she said.
She added that she could now speak about him as the former dock worker who loved standing on King George Dock and watching the ferries go out.
Prior to establishing Legacy, Bush worked for a number of other funeral directors. He oversaw more than 2,000 funerals during his career, and many former customers said he had presented as the archetypal caring undertaker, a point noted by Hull West and Haltemprice MP Emma Hardy.
“He tried to act like he cared, like he was their friend,” said Hardy, who supported many of the families.
Hardy said Bush had exploited the most vulnerable people when they were at their lowest ebb.
“He exploited the most vulnerable people”
In June 2024, after Bush was exposed, Peter Moody's family held a second funeral for him, six months after the first. Joanne Moody said the first service had been deeply upsetting, describing how Bush had rushed the family out and left them unable to grieve together.
“As soon as the curtains were closed on my dad, he wanted us out,” she added.
How have charities been affected?
Charities have also been left reeling from Bush's offending, including the loss of funeral collections intended for good causes. He stole the collection held at the funeral of a former Hull trawlerman, and the money was meant for the Hull Fishing Heritage Centre, a charity that supports the city's former trawlermen and their families.
“I do not know how he [Bush] can sleep at night.”
Chairman Jerry Thompson said Bush had effectively turned his position into a “licence to print money”, reflecting the scale of the trust he abused while running the funeral business.
“He had effectively turned his position into ‘a licence to print money’.”
Meanwhile, Moody said she believed she would never fully recover from what happened and that she still struggled with the practical reminders of her father's death.
“I still have his [her father's] number in my mobile and I can't bear to delete it,” she said.
“He was always only a phone call away and I miss him so much.”
Robert Bush was pictured leaving Hull Crown Court after a previous hearing as the long-running investigation into Legacy continued.
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: Funeral director in court facing 63 charges; Man charged with 64 offences in funeral home probe; MP leads call for funeral regulation and licensing; Not possible to identify cremated ashes, say police; About 200 affected by 'fake funeral plans' says MP; Funeral sector fears 'not limited' to Hull; Funeral home inquiry: Police pass file to CPS; Funeral sector to be reviewed after Legacy scandal; Second funeral for great-gran found in Legacy probe.
