A Belgian father faked his death and then showed up at his own funeral in a helicopter, according to video footage and reports.
David Baerten, 45, identified himself as the dad who duped family members into believing he was dead to demonstrate the importance of staying in touch, The Mirror reported Wednesday. Baertan’s fake funeral occurred near the Belgian city of Liège earlier in June. He wanted to see how his family members would react, according to the outlet.
Belgian dad David Baerten faked his death, then shows up at funeral in helicopter https://t.co/uZFJias1qU
— Frackoff Felgercarb (@FrackoffF) June 14, 2023
Baerten’s wife and children helped him carry out the prank, the New York Post reported.
“Rest in peace, Daddy,” one of his daughters wrote on social media, according to the outlet. “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.” (RELATED: Mourners Gather To Grieve ‘Dead’ Relative. Then They Hear Someone Knocking From Inside The Coffin)
Baertan is known as “Ragner Le Fou” on TikTok, where he has roughly 165,000 followers.
“What I see in my family often hurts me, I never get invited to anything,” Baertan said, according to The Mirror. “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 has yet to release full footage of the prank, the outlet reported.
Fellow TikToker Thomas Faut, reportedly a close friend of Baertan, posted a video that appears to show Baertan’s helicopter landing in a field during the funeral. Mourners seemingly didn’t know what to make of the moment as they went up and hugged him.
“Cheers to you all, welcome to my funeral,” Baertan said, according to The Mirror.