FUNERAL ASHES IMPOSSIBLE TO BE IDENTIFIED..
Mourners left in dark over their loved ones
HUMAN ashes found in a funeral parlour during a police probe cannot be identified after DNA was destroyed by cremation.
It means hundreds of mourners may never know whether they have the cremated remains of their loved ones, or of a total stranger.
Police looked into extracting DNA from the ashes but the temperatures used in cremation proved to be too high.
Last month, officers removed 35 bodies and a quantity of ashes from a funeral director’s premises after concerns were raised over the care of the deceased.
A 46-year-old man and 23-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial and fraud, then bailed.
Humberside’s Assistant Chief Constable, Thom McLoughlin, yesterday said work was continuing to identify the remains found at the funeral director in Hull.
He said: “Since the start of the investigation, our phone line has received over 2,000 calls from concerned members of the public.
“A significant number were concerned about the identification of the ashes of their loved ones.
“We have been working closely with forensic scientists and specialists to assess whether it was possible
to extract DNA from the human ashes in order to identify them.
“Unfortunately, given the high temperature required to carry out a cremation, the DNA will have been broken down and degraded to such a level that we would not be able to recover a meaningful DNA profile – this means that we are unable to identify any of the human ashes.”
Paying tribute to the families affected by the investigation, he said: “From the outset, they have acted with dignity and patience, recognising the enormity of the task and challenges faced by investigators.” Earlier this week, the Mirror revealed one widower’s shock after being told by officers the ashes in his home were not those of his wife.
Richard Shaw used Legacy Independent Funeral Directors for the cremation of his wife Rita, who died last year.
Now Mr Shaw, from Woodmansey, near Hull, says police have told him his wife’s ashes – which he thought were in an urn next to a photo of her – were found in a hospital mortuary. He does not know whose ashes he has instead.
Mr Shaw said: “If it was me [whose ashes had been discovered], she would be going crackers.”