This archive report was first published on 29 June 2019.
Meet the Private Investigator Who Gatecrashes Funerals ¶
On June 29, 2019, the Daily Mail reported on a unique business venture by a private investigator named Bill Edgar, who gatecrashes funerals at the request of the deceased to share their final confessions.
Edgar, from the Gold Coast, started the business after being hired by an elderly man who was terminally ill. The man requested that Edgar interrupt his own funeral to share a letter that revealed some of the man's deepest secrets.
Edgar, who has since performed seven 'coffin confessor' jobs across Melbourne, Brisbane, and New South Wales, said that the majority of his cases involve the deceased revealing their own infidelities. He also uncovered minor crimes such as theft.
However, Edgar warns his clients that he will take confessions about more serious crimes to the police. Despite the job being daunting and uncomfortable, Edgar makes a good living off it, charging several thousand dollars per funeral, varying depending on the circumstance.
But the messages Edgar shares aren't always of vengeance and resentment. Once a month, he sends a letter to a man telling him that his wife loves him and will never forget him, at the dead woman's request.
Edgar's 'Coffin Confessor' business page describes his work as 'confronting and controversial.' It says he is capable of confessing people's sins and 'dirty little secrets' from beyond the grave.
Edgar's work has sparked controversy, but he remains committed to his unique business venture.
