Ashes from funeral home scandal cannot be identified
Bereaved relatives may never know if the remains they have are those of their loved ones, police admit
GRIEVING families whose relatives’ bodies were mishandled by a chain of funeral parlours may never know if the ashes they have are those of their loved ones, police have admitted.
A 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were arrested by Humberside Police after officers recovered 35 bodies and a “quantity” of human ashes in raids at the premises of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, East Yorkshire, last month.
Grieving families have accused the chain of giving them the wrong ashes after their relatives’ funerals.
At a press conference yesterday, a senior officer admitted that forensic scientists have been unable to identify who the ashes belonged to.
“This is a lengthy process that has to follow the coroner’s regulations but, when complete, will provide families with complete assurance as to the identity of their loved ones and repatriation with their families,” Assistant Chief Constable Thom Mcloughlin said.
“While the expert opinion provides us with assurance that the proper crematorium process had been followed, 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.
“This will, of course, be devastating news for families and loved ones and you have my heartfelt condolences at this difficult time.”
The force disclosed that it had received more than 2,000 phone calls to its dedicated hotline from concerned members of the public over the past four weeks and it was in contact with 700 families.
Mr Mcloughlin urged the public to refrain from speculating and “continue to show the utmost respect for the privacy of those bereaved families within our community”.
He said a squad of officers were also investigating the firm over suspected “financial and fraudulent activity”.
The man and woman arrested in connection with the investigation remain on police bail.
Julia Weldon, the director of public health at Hull city council, said: “We recognise that this has been an exceptionally difficult time for families and our community, my heart goes out to you all. I wanted to let you know we are here for all those affected directly or
‘The DNA will have been degraded to such a level we wouldn’t be able to recover a meaningful profile’
indirectly across our community.”
A spokesman from East Yorkshire council said 50 funeral directors in the county have been visited by officials after calls for the sector to be regulated.
Angela Dearing, the director of housing, transportation and public Protection, said: “Over three weeks we have visited 50 premises to review compli- ance with health and safety regulations, operational procedures and care of the deceased, and to offer support and advice to businesses.
“While the sector is not formally regulated nationally, the visits were an opportunity for us to look at a number of key areas of funeral directors’ business. It is very clear from our visits that the ongoing incident at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors is in no way typical of the funeral industry in our area.”