A mother whose son died in devastating circumstances had to endure his funeral cruelly disrupted by a stranger who danced next to the coffin, insulted mourners and interrupted speeches.
Ryan Bishop, who had long suffered from serious health problems, was 35 when he was last seen riding a scooter in Melton, outside Melbourne, and was found dead five days later on May 20.
His family planned a fitting farewell a fortnight later at a chapel in Barrabool Hills, not far from where Mr Bishop had grown up in Lara, about a 20-minute drive north of Geelong.
Shortly after the June 5 service began, the event erupted into chaos with the unscheduled appearance of Chris Stefano, a local singer-songwriter who barely knew Bishop.
Mr Bishop’s grieving mother, Leanne Giuffre, told the Daily Mail Australia that what happened next was “absolutely deplorable”.
The funeral began with a song chosen by Bishop’s partner of five years, Daniel: Here With Me, by American electronic music producer Marshmello with the Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches.
“This guy, Chris, walked up to the front of the stage and started dancing and singing,” Giuffre said.
“It was like I was a performer at a concert. Everyone was looking around and wondering who the hell this person was.”
Ryan Bishop’s funeral was interrupted by singer-songwriter Chris Stefano, who danced next to his coffin, insulted mourners and interrupted speeches. Bishop is pictured with his sister Rhiannon Priddle
Ms Giuffre said her daughter Rhiannon Priddle asked her if she had organised the performance, just as the spectacle took a turn for the worse.
“Then he walked down the middle of the hallway,” Giuffre said. “He was touching people.”
“She got up on some chairs and started doing what they call sl*t-dropping (strippers do that kind of thing on stage). It was amazing.”
Ms Giuffre said that when she was shown a photo montage of Mr Bishop, Stefano “started yelling inappropriate things” and continued to swear. Mrs. Priddle rose to deliver her eulogy.
Somehow, Mrs. Priddle managed to keep her composure and said to Stefano, “You and I can discuss this later, thanks.”
Next came a song Ms. Priddle chose as a tribute to her brother, Give Me More, by her favorite artist, Britney Spears.
“This guy, Chris, stood up, walked onto the stage and grabbed the microphone,” Giuffre said.
‘He approached a family member and tried to drag her onto the stage to try to dance. She was dancing down the aisle between the chairs.
Ryan Bishop’s mother, Leanne Giuffre, said that when a photo montage of her son at his funeral was shown, Chris Stefano (above) “started yelling inappropriate things.”
Stefano is seen performing on stage on another occasion.
‘He was dancing and singing at the top of his lungs like he was a performer and I was absolutely mortified.
“The funeral director came up to me and said, ‘Do you want this closed?’ and I said, ‘Definitely.'”
Ms. Giuffre said “a big, burly guy” from Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service told Stefano he had to leave.
“When they brought him outside, he said to the funeral director, ‘Can I have a can of Coke?'” she said. “It was shocking.
“I thought I would never have to hold a funeral for my son. For this person to do that at my son’s funeral was totally disrespectful.
“I don’t know how she ended up there, but we found out that she had known Ryan for 10 or 12 years. No one knew who she was or what she was doing there.”
Ms Priddle said Stefano’s reaction to being questioned about his strange behaviour was equally odd and offensive.
“He said, ‘I don’t give a shit what you think about me, I’m Chris Stefano,'” she said. “It’s like he thinks he’s untouchable.”
Ms Giuffre said Stefano was told by a “big guy” from Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service that he had to leave. He is pictured with his son Ryan Bishop.
Ms Priddle said of Stefano: “It was almost like he thought he was at a party.”
“He was laughing in a very inappropriate way, not even a giggle here and there,” she said.
“The way he was laughing, you’d think he was in a comedy show. He was literally dancing on the characters’ backs and making a fool of himself.
‘My cousin is pregnant and she almost fell on him while he was doing his performance.’
Mr. Bishop’s father also served, along with Mr. Bishop’s two brothers.
“He’s very lucky he got out of there without being whipped,” Priddle said.
‘My other siblings and my father are not people who normally tolerate this kind of thing.’
Three weeks later, Ms Priddle was still so angry that she posted a summary of what happened on the Geelong Name and Shame Facebook page.
The post was deleted after receiving nearly 300 comments, including one from Mr Bishop’s cousin, who hoped Stefano would never try to ruin anyone else’s funeral.
“Ryan deserved so much better than this,” the cousin wrote.
‘And you, Chris Stefano, took her celebration of life to an unforgivable extreme and ultimately made her special day all about you!’
Chris Stefano is a Britney Spears devotee and cites singers Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, George Michael and Olivia Newton-John as musical and personal inspirations.
Stefano, whose single Boundaries is available on Spotify, has spoken publicly in the past about his bipolar disorder and describes himself as a mental health advocate.
He is a huge fan of Britney Spears and cites singers Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, George Michael and Olivia Newton-John as musical and personal inspirations.
“Mark my words: I’m going to be the next King of Pop,” the unknown music creator told a Geelong publication in May.
Ms Priddle said Stefano, who Daily Mail Australia tried to contact, had made no attempt to contact his mother to apologise for his conduct during the service.
“I have no words for him,” Priddle said. “He made a mockery of my brother’s funeral. He’s a very disrespectful human being.”
‘I think the worst thing is that it was the only day my mother and I had with my brother on Earth and he took it from us and made it into his own.’
Mourners were still able to send Mr Bishop off in style, setting off 35 coloured smoke bombs (one for each year of his life) as his hearse drove away from the chapel.
Ms Giuffre said her family still managed to send her son off in style when they set off coloured smoke bombs, one for each year of his life, as his hearse drove away.
The details of his death are distressing for the family and a report is being prepared for the coroner.
Mr Bishop suffered from type 1 diabetes which led to peripheral neuropathy, a painful condition caused by nerve damage, and had been unable to work in recent years.
“He was a happy-go-lucky guy,” Giuffre said. “No matter what happened over the years.
“He was also a bit of a socialite. He loved very intensely.”
Mr. Bishop’s ashes sit on a table inside the front door of his mother’s house and she greets them when she gets up in the morning, when she goes to bed and when she heads off to work as a nurse.
“Right now I feel like there’s a huge void in my heart because he’s not there,” she said.
‘I have a hard time a couple of times during the day knowing that I’m never going to get a phone call.
“He always loved me and I always loved him. And I still love him.”