Court Reveals Shocking Case: Funeral Directors Let Body Decompose for 36 Days in Uncooled, Leaky Mortuary Due to Coffin Oversight

Table of Contents

1. Case Overview
2. Defendants
3. Allegations
4. Investigation Findings
5. Trial Status

Funeral directors left a decaying body in an uncooled and leaking mortuary for over a month after failing to purchase a coffin, a court was informed.

Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, face charges of public nuisance, preventing lawful burial of a deceased person, and fraud.

Hayley Bell (L) and Richard Elkin are accused of leaving a decomposing body in a funeral homeCredit: Solent The former site of Elkin & Bell Funerals in GosportCredit: Solent

The owners of Elkin and Bell Funerals allegedly left an elderly man in a mortuary room where water was dripping down the walls.

Jurors were informed that their firm had been insolvent “almost since it began in 2019.”

Their business model was described as extremely disorganized, leading to a situation of “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

The Crown heard that the facility, located in Gosport, had bodies “crawling with maggots.”

Jurors were also informed of “fly pupae” scattered in bags throughout the premises, which emitted a “horrific smell of dead bodies.”

The corpses reportedly exhibited “extensive development of mold.”

The company allegedly rarely settled its bills and was “building a legacy of ever-increasing and irredeemable indebtedness.”

It is claimed they owed over £20,000 in rent and electricity bills alone.

The funeral home’s refrigeration system was insufficient to accommodate the entire room, resulting in inappropriate temperatures, the court was told.

Despite having a certificate from the National Association of Funeral Directors displayed in their front office, it was later discovered to be fraudulent, jurors were informed.

Lesley Bates KC, prosecuting, told the jury that the bodies of two elderly men were discovered on December 10, 2023, by High Court enforcement agents who had been assigned to repossess the premises due to unpaid rent and debts.

Bates stated that the agents “felt immediate concern regarding the conditions in which the bodies were being kept.”

She identified the bodies as those of William Mitchell, 87, and Clive Reynolds, noting that Mitchell's body “showed obvious signs of decomposition.”

The authorities were contacted, and an officer visited the funeral parlor and the nearby residence of Elkin and Bell.

Bates added: “He explained that the police had become involved because of the circumstances surrounding the bodies of two deceased persons found within the premises.”

The court learned that Mitchell's body had remained in the mortuary room for 36 days.

Elkin later informed police that the cremation had not occurred because they had not received payment.

However, Bates asserted that Mitchell had obtained a funeral plan with Golden Charter Ltd, and the defendants had received £2,040 to cover the cremation costs.

According to the court, Bell then issued an invoice to Mitchell’s sister-in-law, Patricia Mitchell, for £1,295, stating that a coffin of “simple design” would be provided.

They allegedly informed Golden Charter that it would be a “fully lined, oak veneered MDF coffin.”

Yet, no coffin had actually been acquired for Mitchell, as the court was informed.

The pair pictured outside courtCredit: Solent Jurors heard the walls of the funeral home were dripping with waterCredit: Solent

Bates stated that Mitchell’s family was “incredulous” when informed by the police that his body had not been cremated as planned in a private ceremony.

Mitchell’s brother had intended to skip the cremation, respecting his brother’s wishes, but went to Portchester Crematorium to lay down a wreath instead.

He mistakenly believed that his body had been cremated there.

The jury also learned that there had been five prior reports of “badly decomposed” bodies at the premises dating back to July 2021.

Bates claimed: “Water was entering through a