Grieving families described two funeral directors as “vile” and “evil” as they were 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, including from bereaved families, police bosses and an industry body.

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 court heard details of some loved ones covered in maggots, shedding skin and lying in their own fluids as they were decomposing, kept in unrefrigerated conditions. 

During the trial, the court heard 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.

More than 40 other bodies stored at the funeral directors between June 28, 2022 and December 10, 2023 were not seen separately at hospital, prosecutor Lesley Bates KC had told jurors.

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”.

In a joint statement read in court from Mr Mitchell’s brother and sister-in-law Michael and Patricia Mitchell, they said: “We feel totally betrayed by the way Bill was diabolically treated.”

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

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

Sentencing the pair on Thursday at Portsmouth Crown Court, Judge James Newton-Price KC handed down jail terms of four years for each of them for the main offence of public nuisance, and lesser concurrent sentences for the other convictions.

He said the pair “continually neglected your duty to refrigerate bodies to an adequate level” which was seeking to reduce running costs for the business.

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

The judge said he was sure the log of temperatures was not an accurate or genuine record, to mislead environmental health officers.

He added: “No sentence in this case can ever be the reflection of the value or the worth of the lives of those deceased and whose bodies were neglected in the care of Elkin and Bell.”

The trial had heard there had been five other known cases of “badly decomposed” bodies kept in the mortuary room of Elkin and Bell.

Ms Bates said of the 40 unseen bodies: “Bearing in mind the condition of the bodies they did see, what happened to these others?”

The judge said the state of the bodies is “unknown”.

The family of Patricia Williams, known as Ann, told the court on Thursday that they received a call from the coroner to tell them about the lack of care she had received from Elkin and Bell and she had been frozen due to how much of a bad condition she was in.

Her youngest son Lee Williams said: “I witnessed my mother’s body in a state of decomposition I saw it with my own eyes and smelt it in the air. It is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. This has meant that I have never and doubt I will ever grieve the loss of my mother.”

He said that Elkin and Bell “left us feeling deceived and abandoned at our most vulnerable moment” and he is haunted by the memory of his mother defrosting in the summer heat.

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

His brother, Jamie Williams added he never knew a “rogue funeral director” existed and it shows how “evil” and “vile” Elkin and Bell are.

Mr Elkin was removed from the courtroom as he began to interrupt the victim impact statement from Mr Williams, which was the first to be read.

He was later allowed back in for a final chance to observe proceedings.

The trial heard the funeral directors was investigated by the Gosport Environmental Health Partnership in August 2021 and issued with improvement notices, which the defendants responded to by buying a refrigeration unit on eBay which was unsuitable because of the size of the room.

Elkin and Bell were both found guilty of intentionally causing public nuisance between June 27, 2022 and December 11, 2023, preventing lawful burial of a body between November 3, 2023 and December 11, 2023, and carrying on a business fraudulently between August 10, 2022 and December 11, 2023.

Elkin was also convicted of the forgery of a certificate of funeral directing and using it as a false certificate 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 sentence marked an “important moment” in one of the first times funeral directors have been held criminally accountable for denying families a lawful and dignified burial.

“Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell abused their position of trust, stored bodies in degrading conditions, lied to grieving relatives, and continued trading when they knew they could not meet even basic obligations,” he said. “They robbed many of their one chance to say goodbye with dignity. The sentence today reflects the seriousness of that betrayal.”

After the judge’s sentencing, someone could be heard in the courtroom saying: “It’s not enough.”

Following the sentencing, the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management renewed its call for “urgent” statutory regulation of the funeral sector.

Chief executive Matthew Crawley said: “While we recognise 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 underpinned by statutory oversight and robust accountability mechanisms.

“Bereaved families place enormous trust in our sector.”