Trish
VIP OAP
On Monday morning at 11 am, a London priest arrived to conduct a funeral at a Roman Catholic church in South Kensington (a very expensive area of London). The lavish funeral included a horse drawn hearse, two vintage cars, men in top hats, a full choir and lots of photos of the "deceased" 23 year old man. There was also a director filming the sad occasion.
But, what the priest was about to discover, soon brought an end to proceedings.
The coffin contained no body only ashes (the "brother" said the deceased was found frozen in ice). Of the two groups of "mourners" present, one group were paid actors and the other, more sinister group, wore balaclavas, puffer jackets, hoods and sunglasses. The Russian death certificate is said to be a fake and there is no evidence that the man who organised the funeral and chose the readings was, as claimed, the brother of the deceased. The balaclava clad "brother" refused to speak to the priest.
When it became clear to the clergy that the funeral was fake, they asked the mourners to leave, which they did politely and without fuss. Both the church and the funeral directors were paid in full so, no one was scammed.
As for the deceased. It was claimed that he was a 23 year old man who had gone missing after a New Year's Eve party near an iced-over dam in Latvia (although, it seems no body has been found and he does not have a brother of the same name as the person who organised his funeral). He appears to have no connection to South Kensington. It is also unclear as to whether the missing man's family had any knowledge of the funeral taking place in London.
A plot for a new Mystery series? Nope. * This is reported to have happened earlier this week! I wonder what the point of it was though. Insurance scam or some elaborate social media set-up perhaps? But, funerals are expensive and one as elaborate as this would be very expensive indeed. I must admit, this incident has me very curious as to what it was all about. Any ideas?
* I don't like clicking links on the internet so haven't included one but, Google will easily find it if anyone wants to read the actual articles in today's UK media.
But, what the priest was about to discover, soon brought an end to proceedings.
The coffin contained no body only ashes (the "brother" said the deceased was found frozen in ice). Of the two groups of "mourners" present, one group were paid actors and the other, more sinister group, wore balaclavas, puffer jackets, hoods and sunglasses. The Russian death certificate is said to be a fake and there is no evidence that the man who organised the funeral and chose the readings was, as claimed, the brother of the deceased. The balaclava clad "brother" refused to speak to the priest.
When it became clear to the clergy that the funeral was fake, they asked the mourners to leave, which they did politely and without fuss. Both the church and the funeral directors were paid in full so, no one was scammed.
As for the deceased. It was claimed that he was a 23 year old man who had gone missing after a New Year's Eve party near an iced-over dam in Latvia (although, it seems no body has been found and he does not have a brother of the same name as the person who organised his funeral). He appears to have no connection to South Kensington. It is also unclear as to whether the missing man's family had any knowledge of the funeral taking place in London.
A plot for a new Mystery series? Nope. * This is reported to have happened earlier this week! I wonder what the point of it was though. Insurance scam or some elaborate social media set-up perhaps? But, funerals are expensive and one as elaborate as this would be very expensive indeed. I must admit, this incident has me very curious as to what it was all about. Any ideas?
* I don't like clicking links on the internet so haven't included one but, Google will easily find it if anyone wants to read the actual articles in today's UK media.
