He did not deserve to go through this ordeal.
In a surprising turn of events at the London Oratory Roman Catholic church in South Kensington, England, Fr. Rupert McHardy found himself caught up in a funeral that quickly revealed itself to be an elaborate hoax. The meticulously planned service for a young Latvian man named Lauris Zaube, complete with a horse-drawn hearse, vintage cars, and a full choir, took a dramatic turn when it was discovered that the mourners were paid actors and there was no body in the coffin.
The confusion deepened with the arrival of a man claiming to be Lauris’s brother, Clyde Zaube, who presented a dubious death certificate from Russia, alleging Lauris had been found frozen in ice. However, suspicions arose about Clyde’s identity and Lauris’s fate when it was revealed that Lauris had no known brother named Clyde, and his body had not been found.
Fr. McHardy, in a state of bewilderment, recounted the surreal unfolding of events, including the presence of two distinct groups in the church: the solemn actors and another group wearing puffer jackets and balaclavas. Despite attempts to engage with Clyde and the actors, many questions remained unanswered, and the decision was made to halt the service and ask everyone to leave.
Subsequent investigation uncovered Jacky Jhaj as the orchestrator of the fake funeral, reportedly paying a significant sum to the funeral directors and actors involved. The funeral directors received a suspicious cremation certificate from Russia, raising doubts about the legitimacy of the entire affair and prompting police involvement and legal scrutiny.
As authorities continue to unravel the motives behind the deception, the community remains vigilant against similar attempts to breach the sanctity of their spaces and ceremonies, underscoring the need for caution and scrutiny in the face of such elaborate scams.