A priest from London arrived to hold a funeral at one of the capital’s most historic churches to discover that the mourners were fake and the coffin was empty.
The strange mystery left the inhabitants of one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the capital baffled.
At 11am on Monday, a lavish funeral service would be held at the London Oratory Roman Catholic Church in South Kensington. There was a horse-drawn hearse, two luxury vintage cars, men in top hats, a full choir, and a church filled with photographs of a young man. There was even a director filming the tragic day.
However, the funeral was canceled when the priest leading the service was stunned to discover that the body was not in the coffin and that the mourners were paid actors.
Father Rupert McHardy, 49, had prepared a sermon and was dressed in his robes, ready to begin the service when the choir director took him aside.
The funeral was said to be for a 23-year-old Latvian man who was reported missing on New Year’s Day.
It is unclear if he is dead or if his family is also an innocent victim of the sinister scam.
The organizer claimed to be Clyde Zaube, who said he was the brother of the “dead” man, Lauris Zaube.
Clyde said Lauris was found frozen in ice. The funeral directors, T Cribb and Sons, even received a death certificate, although it was supposedly from Russia.
However, although Lauris Zaube is a 23-year-old Latvian who disappeared after a New Year’s Eve party near an icy dam, his body has apparently not yet been found and he does not appear to have a brother named Clyde. .
In another shocking twist, Father Rupert said he believes the man who organized the funeral is actually a convicted pedophile, whose name MailOnline is currently not releasing.
Do YOU know the people involved? Email chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk
The funeral was going to be that of Lauris Zaube, a 23-year-old Latvian (pictured). However, while it is true that Lauris has been missing since New Year’s Eve, his body has apparently not been found as the funeral organizer supposedly claimed.
Father Rupert McHardy, 49 (pictured), had prepared a sermon and was dressed in his robes, ready to begin the service at the London Oratory in Brompton Rd, South Kensington, when the choirmaster took him aside .
A convicted pedophile is believed to be the man who organized the funeral at the London Oratory church in South Kensington (pictured)
Father Rupert told MailOnline: ‘The funeral (request) came in three or four weeks ago.
“We said, ‘Is there any connection (to the church)?’ and they said yes, from someone who proposed being his brother, Clyde Zaube.
‘He chose the readings.
‘On the day of the funeral, everything started to fall apart.
“The gravediggers were going to collect the body and at the last moment they were told: ‘There is no body, we have ashes.’
Father Rupert said there were two groups of people in the church. The first group, who turned out to be actors, were respectful and polite, although one of them complained that they had not been paid.
He said: “There was another group of people in puffer jackets and balaclavas, including Clyde Zaube.
‘They had hoods and dark glasses. They had a sinister appearance.
‘I tried to talk to Clyde Zaube and he wouldn’t talk to me.
“It became clear that he was not who he said he was.
“The whole thing was a kind of fake funeral.
‘They pretended there was a body and mourners.
‘One of the actors knew the name of the person who had contacted them to come.
In the photo: Riga police search for missing Latvian Lauris Zaube
The 23-year-old disappeared near an icy dam after a New Year’s Eve party
Apparently, his body has not yet been found and he does not appear to have a brother named Clyde.
He is a rather unpleasant character.
I’m pretty sure it’s him who claims to be Clyde Zaube.
‘When I realized it wasn’t a real funeral, we said we couldn’t do this.
‘We told them to leave and they all left relatively happy.
‘If they had been a real family, they would have been crying and crying.
‘They paid us. Funeral directors were paid. We haven’t lost any money but it’s very, very strange.
“Afterwards I was quite shocked. I felt very disturbed by that.
«Normally you take people at their word.
‘No expense was spared: top hats, a horse-drawn hearse, two expensive vintage cars, a full choir.
“I was worried there might be some kind of violence.
‘I thought, I have to stop it because it’s all fake.
“It was very creepy.”
MailOnline has contacted Riga police for comment.