Trial of accused funeral directors hears defence

Two funeral directors accused of keeping the body of an elderly man in an unrefrigerated room are "ordinary people of good character", a court was told.

Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, deny preventing lawful burial of a dead body, intentionally causing a public nuisance and fraud.

The jury at Portsmouth Crown Court heard the pair believe the bodies were kept in "appropriate conditions" at Elkin and Bell Funerals in Gosport, Hampshire.

But the prosecution allege a cooling system was inadequate and before and after its installation, bodies were "wilfully and routinely neglected" in unrefrigerated conditions.

Warning: The following report contains distressing details

The court was previously told Mr Elkin and Ms Bell set up their company in 2019.

Police began investigating after High Court enforcement agents went to repossess their rented property in Nobes Avenue, Gosport, in December 2023 because of unpaid rent and electricity bills.

They found a cooler unit in the mortuary room was not working. The court previously heard the body of 87-year-old William Mitchell had been there for 36 days and "showed obvious signs of decomposition".

In his closing speech, John Femi-Ola KC, for Mr Elkin, said the cooling system was not working at that time because of a blown fuse but that the device "was sufficient" to cool a room of that size.

He said it was installed following advice from Environmental Health officers in 2021.

The court heard that in December 2023 Mr Elkin told police in a statement that he had not really been involved in the day-to-day running of the business for about two years.

Jeremy Wainwright KC, for Ms Bell, said she had not done anything criminal and that there are "no laws or regulations on how bodies should be stored".

Mr Wainwright said the process of decomposition starts immediately after death and cooling or refrigeration would not stop that process.

He told the court Ms Bell was "someone who was trying to get it right".

The prosecution alleges the defendants prevented Mr Mitchell's burial.

The court previously heard that Mr Mitchell's relatives believed he had been cremated in a private ceremony, the week before police found his body.

Defending, Mr Wainwright said that was "a mix up" and not booking the cremation was not the same as preventing it.

Both Mr Elkin and Ms Bell have chosen not to give evidence at the trial.

Mr Elkin has also denied forging a certificate of funeral directing.

The trial continues.

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