Hull funeral home suspects sent 'burn in hell' threats after 35 bodies found

13 March 2024 , 23:11

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A branch of the Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, northeast England (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The suspects at the centre of a police probe into a funeral parlour have been hit with death threats.

Officers have removed 35 bodies and human ashes from three premises owned by Legacy Funeral Directors. There are serious concerns about the management and storage of the deceased.

The pair, who have not been named, were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position.

But when news broke that the 46-year-old man and 23-year-old woman had been released on bail it prompted a furious backlash from families who suspect their relatives could have fallen victim.

Threats of torture and comments describing the pair as “monsters" and telling them to “burn in hell” were made online as customers demanded to know what happened to loved ones’ remains.

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The Mirror approached Humberside Police about the disturbing remarks but the force did not comment. It has dedicated 130 officers to the investigation in Hull and Beverley, East Yorks.

Earlier today, one of the grieving families shared how they were told they may have been given the wrong person's ashes amidst a police probe into the funeral parlour.

Emma Osborne says she was informed by police her stepfather, Danny Middleton, may be one of the bodies recovered from a branch of the Legacy Independent Funeral directors in Hull.

Meanwhile, the funeral directors appeared to have had its branding removed from its branch in Beverley, East Yorkshire, on Tuesday. The shop's sign had been taken down baring the former title of a previous, unconnected business underneath.

Mourner Ms Osborne sais she was given what she was told was Danny's ashes a month ago after Legacy carried out his funeral, and that she was now enduring the agonising wait to find out if he was indeed one of the bodies removed over the weekend. “As far as we know he has got his ID band on him, that’s all we know, he has not been identified properly,” she told the Telegraph, saying Danny had died around two months prior.

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