Nearly two weeks after Robert Bush was sentenced to 20 years in prison for offences committed at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, Humberside Police has released new details about the scale of support given to the families affected throughout the two-year investigation, revealing that its remaining permanent Family Liaison Officers were each left supporting more than 30 families at once, far beyond the usual ratio of one family per pair of officers.
Bush, 48, formerly of Kirk Ella in East Yorkshire, was sentenced on Friday 31 July following a five-day hearing at Hull Crown Court, for 67 offences relating to his running of the Hessle Road funeral home, after an investigation described by police as the largest and most complex in Humberside Police’s history.
Detective Constable Lou Cross, a Detective Constable within Humberside Police’s Internal Domestic Abuse Team based at Priory Road, has served with the force for 22 years and trained as a Family Liaison Officer in 2020. She is one of five permanent FLOs who supported the families through the investigation.
An unprecedented challenge
Speaking about the deployment, she said: “It’s been a very challenging deployment. It is the largest investigation Humberside Police has undertaken, which has attracted local, national and internal media interest. The number of families needing support was unprecedented. It was challenging as the remaining five permanent FLOs were required to support over thirty families between each of us, when normally it is one family per pair of FLOs.”
She described some of the hardest moments of the two-year investigation: “There have been extremely difficult moments, particularly when families completed the traumatic process of identification. Over the past two years since the critical incident was reported, I’ve built strong relationships with all my families and developed a real level of trust, which has been rewarding.
“As a team, we have supported families through their feelings of grief, anger and uncertainty, whilst gathering evidence for the investigation up to the court process. We helped many deliver their victim impact statements personally which was extremely emotional for all involved. Knowing they felt supported throughout that journey makes the role incredibly worthwhile.”
Demands of a live investigation
DC Cross said the role also meant balancing families’ need for information against the demands of a live investigation: “Families naturally often want immediate answers. During the early stages of an investigation, we may not have those answers, or we may be unable to share certain information because it could jeopardise a live investigation. Investigations can be lengthy. Managing expectations can be difficult.”
The FLO role runs alongside officers’ normal policing duties, meaning long hours, particularly in the early stages of a deployment.
“Being a FLO is challenging, demanding and emotionally difficult,” she said, “but it’s also one of the most rewarding roles I’ve ever undertaken. Every FLO deployment reminds me why the role matters and knowing I have helped a family through one of the darkest times of their lives makes every challenge worthwhile.”
Family Liaison Officers are specially trained detectives who volunteer for the additional role, acting as the vital link between investigating officers and victims’ families. DC Cross said deployment typically begins as soon as possible after an investigation involving a suspicious death, with officers briefed by the senior investigating officer and Family Liaison Advisor before aiming to visit affected families as quickly as possible, in pairs.
Balancing investigative needs with support
FLOs usually remain with a family throughout an investigation, up to and including court proceedings and sentencing, with an exit strategy followed once support is no longer needed. Officers also work closely with a Family Liaison Advisor and Family Liaison Coordinator, whose guidance helps FLOs balance investigative needs with the support families require.
“It’s about being open, honest and compassionate from the very beginning,” DC Cross said of building trust with families. “I explain that I’m there to learn and share information which will assist the investigation, whilst supporting them.”
Detective Superintendent Alan Curtis, the senior investigating officer on the Legacy case, previously described the scale of the wider investigation: officers seized just short of 3,000 exhibits and 12,000 items of disclosure, took 800 witness statements, and identified more than 300 victims, though he said it was impossible to know exactly how many people had truly been affected.
Proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act, led by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, are due to begin on Monday 16 November 2026. Anyone affected by the case can contact Victim Support Humberside at affectedbycrime.com, or by calling 0808 28 111 36.
