Funeral directors jailed after decomposing body found in mortuary

"Two funeral directors have been jailed for four years over storing bodies in unrefrigerated conditions, while one body was found decomposed in their mortuary room, having been left there for 36 days. Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, who ran Elkin and Bell Funerals in Gosport, Hampshire, were convicted of public nuisance, preventing the decent burial of a body and fraud offences following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court last year. The case has prompted renewed calls for urgent regulation of the funeral sector."

"During the trial, the court heard that the bodies of two elderly men were found by High Court enforcement agents who had been tasked with repossessing the premises because of unpaid rent and debts. The body of 87-year-old William Mitchell showed obvious signs of decomposition, the prosecution said, in a mortuary room that was not refrigerated and water was coming in through a leak in the roof."

"Statements from 13 family members of loved ones who were in the care of Elkin and Bell were read to the court on Thursday, with some saying the uncertainty of how they were treated in death will haunt them forever. The trial heard Mr Mitchell's family were incredulous when told by police he had not been cremated, and they had even placed a wreath at Portchester Crematorium in the mistaken belief that his body had been cremated there."

Two funeral directors in Gosport were convicted of public nuisance, preventing the decent burial of a body, and fraud, and jailed for four years. Bodies were stored without refrigeration and one body, that of 87-year-old William Mitchell, showed clear decomposition after being left in a mortuary room for 36 days with roof leaks. High Court enforcement agents discovered two elderly men’s bodies while repossessing premises over unpaid rent and debts. More than 40 bodies stored between June 28, 2022, and December 10, 2023, were not seen separately at hospital. Multiple families reported lasting anguish and confusion about how their loved ones were handled.

Read at www.independent.co.uk