Fake funeral stuns priest

A Catholic priest has been left ‘shaken’ after conducting what has been described as a ‘fake funeral’.

Fr. Rupert McHardy at the London Oratory Roman Catholic church in South Kensington, was confronted with a funeral that seemed like any other, until it was revealed to be an elaborate hoax.

The service was believed to be for a 23 year old Latvian man called Lauris Zaube who was reported missing at New Year. The event was scheduled for 11 am on a Monday, with a setup that spared no expense: a horse-drawn hearse, two luxury vintage cars, men in top hats, a full choir and a church adorned with photos of the supposed deceased.

Fr Rupert McHardy had prepared his sermon and was in his robes when a choirmaster became suspicious.

Fr McHardy told MailOnline that he had received a request for Monday’s funeral with the man he knew as Clyde Zaube choosing the readings and claiming a connection to the church. Mr Zaube’s brother who said his name was Clyde, is said to have organised the funeral and provided a death certificate which was in Russian.

Fr McHardy, ready in his robes to deliver the sermon, was informed by the choirmaster that there was no body in the coffin

“On the day of the funeral, it all started to unravel. The undertakers were going to collect the body and then at the last minute they were told, ‘there is no body, we have ashes.”

Clyde Zaube, who claimed to be the deceased’s brother, alleged that Lauris was found frozen in ice, a story supported by a death certificate purportedly from Russia. Yet, doubts about Clyde’s identity and the actual fate of Lauris Zaube loomed large, especially when it was revealed that Lauris’ body had not been found and he reportedly had no brother named Clyde.

Fr McHardy added that the man who said he was Clyde Zaube refused to speak to him when he challenged him about what was happening and “it became clear he wasn’t who he claimed to be”. The priest attempted to converse with Clyde, who remained unresponsive.

He also said that actors had been hired to play mourners and that they were complaining that they hadn’t been paid.

Fr McHardy said that the whole event had left him “shaken” and “disturbed…I was worried there was going to be some sort of violence. I thought, I have got to stop it because it’s all fake. It was very spooky.”

A spokeswoman for the Latvian State Police confirmed Lauris Zaube is missing and that they are investigating his disappearance: “The State Police is informed about this event. But the missing person himself, Lauris Zaube, has not been found so far.”

The funeral directors, T. Cribb and Sons, received a substantial payment and a questionable cremation certificate from Russia. A source at the firm of funeral directors told MailOnline,  that it was the most bizarre thing they had ever been involved with.

‘We were contacted online about a week ago and asked to make all the arrangements, which we did. The money was paid to us by bank transfer so it is not as if we have not been paid. Everything seemed in order, and there was a death certificate that was in Russian. Everyone has been paid, except from I hear some of the actors. We have passed all that we know to the police, and it is in their hands.’

The investigation into the incident revealed Jacky Jhaj, a 38-year-old convicted pedophile, was the person who orchestrated the fake funeral, having paid a significant sum to the funeral directors, The Telegraph reported.

Police are now investigating.

(Picture Courtesy: Facebook/The Oratory of St Philip Neri in London – Brompton Oratory)