Man fakes death, shows up at 'funeral' in a helicopter to teach family a 'life lesson'

Making your family feel loved and appreciated is crucial for a harmonious relationship. Without it, some might go to extremes to understand their self-worth. This is exactly what 45-year-old David Baerten did when he felt unappreciated by his family. The Belgian man faked his own death and staged a "funeral" to see who truly cared for him.

David enlisted his wife and children to help orchestrate and stage his "death" in front of relatives, aiming to teach them a "life lesson." One of his daughters played a key role by posting news of his death on social media, making it look like a heartfelt tribute. “Rest in peace, Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you,” his daughter wrote, according to the Times UK. “Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you.”

Thomas Faut (@el.tiktokeur2), a relative of David's, posted a scene from the event on TikTok. The video has garnered over 500,000 views and more than 7,000 likes. It shows a crowd gathered, dressed in black, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Soon, a black helicopter whizzed through the sky, landing on the grassy lawn of the venue. People gasped in shock as David hopped out, leaving many in confusion. Some walked towards him while others stood by the parking lot, struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

“Cheers to you all, welcome to my funeral,” the Belgian man said, greeting his mourners. Relatives rushed ahead to give him hugs and embrace. Later on, David revealed the reason behind pulling such a prank. “What I see in my family often hurts me, I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me. We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated. That’s why I wanted to give them a life lesson and show them that you shouldn’t wait until someone is dead to meet up with them," he said.

He added that although only half of his family attended his fake "funeral," other relatives did contact him. In a way, the funeral turned out to be an eye-opener for them, as well as for him. “That proves who really cares about me,” he said. “Those who didn’t come did contact me to meet up. So in a way, I did win.” Responding to David’s piece of mischief, Thomas wrote in the caption of his video, “You got us, I swear I was crying and then I had the shock, buddy we love you very much.”

You can follow Thomas Faut (@el.tiktokeur2) and David Baerten (@ragnar_le_fou) on TikTok to catch up on more clips from the fake funeral.