Grandmother’s body was left for 7 weeks in funeral parlour ... and wasn’t even in a freezer
Son’s torment after family believed she’d already been cremated
A FAMILY has spoken of their anguish at learning that the body of a much-loved 78-year-old grandmother was allegedly left to decompose at a funeral parlour for seven weeks.
Around 20 friends and relatives of Susan Stone gathered at the ‘chapel’ at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors for the funeral ceremony and were told her body would be taken off for cremation.
The family funeral directors’ firm is being probed by police, who this week recovered 35 bodies and suspected human ashes in a raid.
Mrs Stone’s son Martin, 52, told the Mail he was concerned that her coffin had appeared to be ‘second hand’ and ‘dented’ with a name plaque that was not properly attached.
The Stone family had not yet received the ashes and have now been told by
‘Grief made far worse’
police that one of the bodies at the Hull funeral parlour had Mrs Stone’s hospital name tag on – and had not been kept in a freezer. The development has now left the family wondering what really happened to the body of Mrs Stone’s son Stephen, 48, who died ten years ago and was also dealt with by Legacy.
Following his funeral the family were given his ashes, which were put in a burial plot. But like dozens of other families caught up in the alleged scandal, they now don’t know whether or not to believe they were given the correct ashes. ‘We don’t know and never will know if it’s him,’ said Mr Stone.
Mr Stone had been his mother’s carer until she died in hospital in January. Mrs Stone’s husband Eric, 90, was devastated at her death but his grief has been made far worse by the news she was never cremated.
‘It’s dramatically affected him,’ said Mr Stone. ‘He is really upset and wants to go with my mum.’
Police have launched a major investigation into the Hull firm. They are trying to identify the 35 bodies recovered from the Hessle
branch, amid concerns many should have been cremated. Before news of the inquiry was made public, the Stone family received a phone call from Humberside Police to inform them that Mrs Stone’s body was still in the Legacy building. It was too decomposed to be formally identified and dental records will be required to carry out the process before she is eventually cremated.
Speaking from his home in Hull, Mr Stone recalled how the family had gathered for the funeral at the ‘Legacy Chapel’ on January 22. He said instead of the new coffin he was expecting, his mother was laid to rest in a ‘dented second hand coffin’ and her name plaque was ‘loose’ and not properly attached. ‘I thought it wasn’t right at the time,’ he said. ‘We were told to come and collect the ashes a week or two later but we hadn’t done it.’
The father- of-two said he was furious when he found out his mother hadn’t been cremated.
‘I just wanted to get revenge because of what happened to my mum, it’s disgusting,’ he said. ‘I was fuming. Her body had been there for seven weeks. It had just been dumped there and wasn’t even in a freezer.’
More than 1,000 people have contacted a police hotline as officers work out what was happening at the site. A senior officer said they were investigating a ‘truly horrific incident’.
A man of 46 and a 23-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position.
They have been released on bail pending further inquiries.