Horror as funeral director ‘kept babies' bodies at home and arranged them in living room'
Story by Eleanor Burleigh • 3d
Aime Upton
A funeral director who kept babies' bodies at her home has been banned from NHS maternity wards and mortuaries after a grieving mother made a "terrifying" discovery. Amie Upton, 38, was found watching TV in her home alongside the dead bodies of two babies, one strapped into a baby bouncer and another on the sofa next to her.
Zoe Ward, who had recently lost her son, Bleu, was "terrified" to stumble upon the scene and learn that her deceased child was being kept in the "dirty" conditions of Ms Upton's home rather than a "professional setting". Ms Ward's son died of brain damage at Leeds General Infirmary in 2021 and she decided to use Ms Upton's baby loss support and funeral service, Florrie's Army, after it was recommended by a friend. She switched funeral directors after making the grim discovery. Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust banned Ms Upton from its mortuaries and maternity wards in spring of this year, according to a BBC investigation.
"There's a cat scratcher in the corner and I can hear a dog barking and there was another [dead] baby on the sofa. It wasn't a nice sight. I rang my mum and ... I was screaming down the phone, 'It's mucky, it's dirty, he can't stay here'."
She said she immediately switched funeral directors after the "weird" incident, which left her feeling "upset and angry".
The parents of another deceased baby, who wanted to remain anonymous, also described the idea of their stillborn daughter being kept at Ms Upton's house as something out of "a horror film".
"I just didn't know why she was there," the mother said. "It was just crazy ... [The baby's body was] really smelly, like she'd been in there and not kept cool."
A spokesperson for the NHS Trust said: "When we first became aware of concerns, we implemented extra steps in our mortuary services on top of our already robust measures.
"Since 2021, we have had specific safeguarding measures in place, including monitoring [Ms Upton's] attendence when visiting deceased patients at the mortuary in her funeral service role."
Ms Upton told the BBC that she had only received two complaints in the eight years since she began running Florrie's Army.
West Yorkshire Police said that it had conducted "extensive enquiries" during which "no potential crimes were identified".
A spokesperson added: "We recognise the concerns raised by these two families will have added to the distress they felt during an already incredibly difficult time. Our thoughts remain with them."
Story by Eleanor Burleigh • 3d
Aime Upton
A funeral director who kept babies' bodies at her home has been banned from NHS maternity wards and mortuaries after a grieving mother made a "terrifying" discovery. Amie Upton, 38, was found watching TV in her home alongside the dead bodies of two babies, one strapped into a baby bouncer and another on the sofa next to her.
Zoe Ward, who had recently lost her son, Bleu, was "terrified" to stumble upon the scene and learn that her deceased child was being kept in the "dirty" conditions of Ms Upton's home rather than a "professional setting". Ms Ward's son died of brain damage at Leeds General Infirmary in 2021 and she decided to use Ms Upton's baby loss support and funeral service, Florrie's Army, after it was recommended by a friend. She switched funeral directors after making the grim discovery. Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust banned Ms Upton from its mortuaries and maternity wards in spring of this year, according to a BBC investigation.
"There's a cat scratcher in the corner and I can hear a dog barking and there was another [dead] baby on the sofa. It wasn't a nice sight. I rang my mum and ... I was screaming down the phone, 'It's mucky, it's dirty, he can't stay here'."
She said she immediately switched funeral directors after the "weird" incident, which left her feeling "upset and angry".
The parents of another deceased baby, who wanted to remain anonymous, also described the idea of their stillborn daughter being kept at Ms Upton's house as something out of "a horror film".
"I just didn't know why she was there," the mother said. "It was just crazy ... [The baby's body was] really smelly, like she'd been in there and not kept cool."
A spokesperson for the NHS Trust said: "When we first became aware of concerns, we implemented extra steps in our mortuary services on top of our already robust measures.
"Since 2021, we have had specific safeguarding measures in place, including monitoring [Ms Upton's] attendence when visiting deceased patients at the mortuary in her funeral service role."
Ms Upton told the BBC that she had only received two complaints in the eight years since she began running Florrie's Army.
West Yorkshire Police said that it had conducted "extensive enquiries" during which "no potential crimes were identified".
A spokesperson added: "We recognise the concerns raised by these two families will have added to the distress they felt during an already incredibly difficult time. Our thoughts remain with them."
