‘Evil’ funeral directors left a body to decompose for 36 days | UK | News

Grieving families described two funeral directors as “despicable” and “evil” after they were sentenced to four years in prison for storing bodies in unrefrigerated conditions, while a body was found decomposing in a morgue room for 36 days. Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, who ran Elkin and Bell Funerals in Gosport, Hampshire, were found guilty of public nuisance, obstructing the proper burial of a body and fraud following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court last year. The case has sparked fresh calls for urgent regulation of the funeral industry, including from bereaved families, police bosses and an industry body.

Statements from Elkin and 13 family members in Bell’s care were read to the court on Thursday; Some said the uncertainty of how they were treated at the time of death will haunt them forever. The court heard details of some of their loved ones being stored in unrefrigerated conditions while they were covered in maggots, shedding their skin and rotting in their own fluids.

During the hearing, the court heard the bodies of the two elderly men were found by High Court bailiffs tasked with retrieving the property for unpaid rent and debts. The body of 87-year-old William Mitchell “showed obvious signs of decomposition” in an unrefrigerated morgue room with water coming from a leak in the roof, the prosecution said.

Prosecutor Lesley Bates KC told jurors that more than 40 bodies stored at funeral directorates between June 28, 2022 and December 10, 2023 were not seen separately in hospital.

The hearing heard Mr Mitchell’s family were “in disbelief” when told by police that he had not been cremated and even laid a wreath at Portchester Crematorium “in the mistaken belief that his body had been cremated there”.

In a joint statement read in court by Mr Mitchell’s brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Patricia Mitchell, they said: “We feel completely betrayed by the evil treatment of Bill.”

The sentencing hearing heard how Mr Mitchell knew Elkin and Bell before his death and would bring sweets and treats to Bell when he lived around the corner.

His nephew Darren Williams said: “He was a very kind-hearted man. He entrusted his final wishes to Elkin and Bell. They completely betrayed his kindness.”

Sentencing the pair at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday, Judge James Newton-Price KC sentenced them to four years in prison for each of the main offense of public nuisance, with lesser concurrent sentences for the other convictions.

He said the pair “consistently neglected their duty to adequately cool bodies”, which was intended to reduce the business’s operating costs.

The court heard that the temperature in the mortuary room where Mr Mitchell’s body was found was recorded at 11.48°C, well above the 4°C recommended for storing bodies after 48 hours.

The judge said he was confident the temperature record was not an accurate or genuine record in an attempt to mislead environmental health officials.

He added: “No sentence in this case can ever reflect the worth or value of the lives of those who died and whose bodies were neglected in Elkin and Bell’s care.”

The hearing heard there were five other known cases of “badly decomposed” bodies being stored in Elkin and Bell’s mortuary room.

Ms Bates said of the 40 unseen bodies: “Given the condition of the bodies they saw, what happened to the others?”

The judge said the condition of the bodies was “unknown”.

The family of Patricia Williams, known as Ann, told the court on Thursday they received a call from the coroner to tell her about the lack of attention she received from Elkin and Bell and that she was frozen out by her plight.

Her youngest son, Lee Williams, said: “I witnessed my mother’s decomposing body, saw it with my own eyes and smelled it in the air. It is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It means I have never felt the pain of my mother’s loss and I never doubt I will.”

She said Elkin and Bell “left us feeling betrayed and abandoned at our most vulnerable moment” and was haunted by the memory of her mother thawing in the summer heat.

“When I carried her coffin, the ice melted on my hands and shoulders and mixed with the smell of decay. It was the last act I could do to honor my mother.”

His brother, Jamie Williams, added that he had no idea there was a “rogue funeral director” and that it showed how “evil” and “despicable” Elkin and Bell were.

Mr Elkin was removed from the courtroom when he began interrupting Mr Williams’ first read victim impact statement.

He was then allowed back in to be given one last chance to observe the hearing.

The hearing heard the funeral directors were investigated and issued improvement notices by the Gosport Environmental Health Partnership in August 2021, while the defendants responded by purchasing a cooling unit from eBay that was unsuitable due to the size of the room.

Elkin and Bell were convicted of willful public nuisance between June 27, 2022 and December 11, 2023, obstructing the lawful burial of a body between November 3, 2023 and December 11, 2023, and fraudulently conducting a business between August 10, 2022 and December 11, 2023.

Elkin was also convicted of forging a funeral director certificate and using it as a false document on or before December 10, 2023.

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He also previously pleaded guilty to illegal possession of pepper spray.

Andrew Eddy, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the sentencing was a “pivotal moment” in one of the first times funeral directors have been held criminally liable for refusing families a lawful and dignified burial.

“Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell abused their positions of trust, stored bodies in degrading conditions, lied to grieving relatives and continued trading when they knew they could not fulfill even basic obligations,” he said. “They robbed them of most of their chance to say goodbye with dignity. Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of this betrayal.”

“This is not enough,” someone in the courtroom was heard saying after the judge handed down his sentence.

Following the sentencing, the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management renewed its call for “urgent” legislation on the funeral industry.

Chief executive Matthew Crawley said: “While we recognize that the vast majority of funeral professionals serve families with dignity, care and the highest level of professionalism every day, this case demonstrates the potential for profound harm when standards are not supported by legal oversight and robust accountability mechanisms.

“Bereaved families place great trust in our industry.”