Families of the deceased describe betrayal and prolonged grief as the care, or lack thereof, by the defendants disrupted funeral plans and left families uncertain about cremation or burial.

The sentencing stressed accountability for abusing trust in the funeral sector, with prosecutors underscoring the breach of dignity and harm to families.

Thirteen family members gave testimony in court, detailing emotional distress caused by failures and neglect of a dignified burial.

Evidence showed a non-refrigerated mortuary room with water leaking from the ceiling and a recorded temperature of about 11.48C, far above the recommended 4C for storing bodies after 48 hours.

Regulatory concerns were raised previously, including 2021 improvement notices and a failed attempt to install refrigeration via a low-cost unit bought on eBay.

A decomposed 87-year-old was found in an unrefrigerated mortuary room alongside more than 40 other bodies stored under substandard conditions between mid-2022 and late 2023.

More than 40 other bodies stored at the funeral home during the same period were not individually checked or identified at hospital, prompting concerns over handling.

From mid-2022 to late 2023, 46 bodies were kept in an unrefrigerated, damp mortuary, with many left for over 30 days and some decomposed or maggot-infested.

The two funeral directors, Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell, were jailed for four years each for public nuisance, preventing a dignified burial, and fraud related to mismanaged mortuary conditions.

The sentencing also included convictions for forging a certificate of funeral directing and illegal pepper spray possession, with concurrent lesser penalties for related offences.

Elkin and Bell were convicted of intentionally causing a public nuisance, preventing lawful burial, and operating a business with intent to defraud creditors; Elkin faced additional counts for making a false instrument and possessing pepper spray.

The judge said the defendants neglected their duties to refrigerate bodies to save costs, noting that no sentence can reflect the true value of the lives neglected.