The bodies of 35 people and the suspected ashes of a number of others have been recovered by police investigating a funeral directors over “concern for care of the deceased”.
Humberside Police said the remains had been removed from Legacy Independent Funeral Directors on Hessle Road in Hull and taken to the mortuary in the city, following what senior officers have called a “truly horrific incident”.
A 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position have been released on bail, the force said.
Deputy Chief Constable David Marshall told a press conference on Tuesday: “We are continuing to support the families involved through this extremely difficult and distressing time.”
Mr Marshall added: “This has been a truly horrific incident.”
He said families were “understandably distraught” and acknowledged that they had many questions that needed to be answered.
Mr Marshall said it was an “extremely complex and sensitive investigation” and pledged to put the “heartbroken families” at the core of the inquiry.
He said: “Many will be shocked, horrified and retraumatised through grief following the disclosure of the facts of this case this week.”
Assistant Chief Constable Thom McLoughlin told reporters that more than 120 police officers and staff were now working on the case and more than 1,000 calls had been received from concerned members of the public.
Mr McLoughlin said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to speak directly to the families and loved ones affected by this truly terrible set of circumstances.
“My heart goes out to you all and I can only imagine how distressing and upsetting it will be for you and your families. I know that they will want or need much more information than I can give you today.
“But as we progress with the investigation, I want to reassure you that we will provide you updates as soon as we can and I also want to give you a personal commitment that I will do everything possible to give you the answers that you deserve.”
He added: “We have now recovered a total of 35 deceased who have now been respectfully transported to the mortuary in Hull and formal identification procedures are now taking place.
“In addition, we have also recovered a quantity of what we suspect to be human ashes. We are in the process of carefully recovering all of those ashes and taking those to the mortuary.”
Mr McLoughlin said: “I recognise that this is a distressing time for all of those affected and I have no doubt it will have a significant impact across all our local communities and beyond.”
The Assistant Chief Constable said the investigation was at a critical stage and the Humberside force was drawing on support nationally.
He said this “reflects the sheer size and scale of this investigation”.
Officers cordoned off three Legacy Independent Funeral Directors sites after the force received a report on Wednesday of concerns about the “storage and management processes relating to care of the deceased”.
Specialist teams were continuing to work at the Hessle Road site on Tuesday, and also at two others run by the firm in Hull and Beverley.
Since Wednesday, families from Hull and the East Riding have taken to social media to express their concerns over what may have happened to their relatives’ bodies after they were entrusted to Legacy for funerals.
Flowers have been left at the Hessle Road site.
