Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell are in prison after being convicted of a series of serious offences relating to their management of a funeral business in Gosport, Hampshire. The pair were sentenced to four years each at Portsmouth Crown Court on 19 February 2026, after being found guilty of keeping 46 bodies in unrefrigerated conditions, lying to grieving families, and deliberately defrauding creditors while continuing to trade.
Who Are Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell?
Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, were the directors of a funeral business operating in the Gosport area of Hampshire. They operated what appeared to be a legitimate funeral service, taking payments from bereaved families to carry out funerals and cremations for their loved ones. In reality, the business had descended into a state of serious mismanagement and deliberate fraud by at least June 2022.
What Did They Do?
Between June 2022 and December 2023, Elkin and Bell kept 46 bodies in an unrefrigerated storage room at their premises, with many left there for more than 30 days. One body — that of an elderly man — was found in a badly decomposed state after being left for 36 days without refrigeration. While the bodies were being neglected in this way, Elkin and Bell continued to accept payments from grieving families, telling them that funerals had taken place or that their relatives had been cremated when this was not true.
In at least one case, a family was told their loved one had been cremated when the body was in fact still being stored on the premises in deteriorating condition. The deception compounded the grief of families who believed they had said a final goodbye, only to discover later that the funeral they had paid for had never occurred. The pair also continued trading while knowing they could not meet even their most basic obligations, and deliberately sought to defraud creditors as the business failed.
In addition to the core offences, Elkin was separately convicted of making and using a false instrument, and of possessing pepper spray — an illegal weapon under UK law. For more information on how serious offences are sentenced, see our guide to how judges decide sentences in the UK.
How Were They Discovered?
The extent of the neglect came to light in December 2023 when bailiffs entered the Gosport premises in connection with the business’s debts and discovered two bodies stored without refrigeration in a room with water leaking through the ceiling. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary launched an investigation, which uncovered the full scale of what had been happening over the preceding 18 months. Police and prosecutors described Elkin and Bell as having “preyed on families at their most vulnerable” and shown a calculated willingness to deceive people at the worst moments of their lives.
The Trial and Conviction
Both Elkin and Bell were tried at Portsmouth Crown Court. They were found guilty of intentionally causing a public nuisance, preventing lawful burial, and carrying on business with intent to defraud creditors. Richard Elkin was additionally convicted of making and using a false instrument, and possessing pepper spray. The Crown Prosecution Service described the case as an abuse of a position of profound trust. The case prompted calls from bereaved families and consumer groups for urgent statutory regulation of the funeral sector in England and Wales, which — unlike Scotland — currently operates without mandatory licensing for funeral directors.
The Sentence
On 19 February 2026, Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell were each sentenced to four years in prison at Portsmouth Crown Court. Under standard sentencing rules for determinate sentences, they will serve half of their sentence — two years — before being released on licence. Licence conditions will apply for the remainder of the sentence period. For information on what happens when someone is released from prison on licence, our guides explain the parole and release process in detail. Bereaved families described feeling that four years did not reflect the full impact of what Elkin and Bell had done to them, while legal experts noted that the sentences reflected the charges available under existing law rather than the moral gravity of the conduct.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell in prison?
Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell are in prison because they were convicted of intentionally causing a public nuisance, preventing lawful burial, and carrying on a business with intent to defraud creditors. They kept 46 bodies in unrefrigerated conditions and lied to grieving families about funerals and cremations that had not taken place.
How long are Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell’s sentences?
Both Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell were sentenced to four years in prison each at Portsmouth Crown Court on 19 February 2026. They will each serve half of that sentence — two years — before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
How many bodies were found at the Gosport funeral directors?
Police found that 46 bodies had been kept in unrefrigerated conditions at the Gosport funeral directors premises between June 2022 and December 2023. Many had been left for over 30 days. One body was found in a badly decomposed condition after being kept for 36 days without refrigeration.
When were Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell convicted?
Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell were convicted at Portsmouth Crown Court after a trial. They were sentenced on 19 February 2026 to four years imprisonment each.
What charges were Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell convicted of?
Both were convicted of intentionally causing a public nuisance, preventing lawful burial, and carrying on a business with intent to defraud creditors. Richard Elkin was additionally convicted of making and using a false instrument and possessing pepper spray.
