Man fakes his death then arrives at funeral by helicopter ‘to teach his family a lesson’
Man fakes death so he can film himself arriving by helicopter at his funeral ‘to teach his family a lesson about staying in touch’
- David Baerten, 45, arrived with a film crew at the funeral near Liège, Belgium
A man in Belgium faked his death and then came to his own funeral in a helicopter as part of a dramatic stunt to teach his family a lesson about staying in touch.
David Baerten, 45, a TikTok creator, told his wife and kids about his elaborate plan and they helped him make it happen by agreeing on social media.
One of his daughters helped deceive his followers in what many online have labeled a cruel ‘joke’ by writing on social media, ‘Rest in peace Dad. I will never stop thinking about you.
Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather and you had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you.’
They organized a funeral near Liege last weekend and as mourners gathered, Baerten, who goes by Ragnar le Fou online, made a grand entrance with a film crew by helicopter.
The ‘pathetic’ joke of the TikToker, which has 162,000 followers, received serious reactions from some quarters.
Baerten was forced to explain his actions, The times reports, suggesting he did this to see how his wider family would react after he claimed they had lost contact with him.
“What I see in my family often hurts me,” he said. “I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me. We’ve all grown 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’s dead to meet them.”
Baerten has not yet released the full video of him arriving by helicopter.
Another TikTok user, who attended the funeral, shared footage of the landing in a field where friends and family were gathered.
Many rushed to greet and hug Baerten as he emerged from the helicopter, no doubt to explain himself to those present.
His close friend Thomas Faut shared a video of the two men embracing after reuniting, captioning the emotional clip, “you got us.”
“I swear I was crying and then I had the shock buddy, we love you very much,” he said of the emotional reunion, despite his friend’s cheating.
Van Baerten’s friends and family seemed in disbelief as they looked to the sky and witnessed his arrival at his own funeral
Many rushed to greet and hug Baerten as he emerged from the helicopter, no doubt to explain himself to those in attendance
His close friend Thomas Faut shared a video of the two men embracing after being reunited
Baerten said that while “only half my family came to the funeral,” other relatives have since been in touch.
“That proves who really cares about me,” he said. ‘Those who didn’t come have contacted me to make an appointment. So in a way I won.’
Some of his fans agreed it was a valuable “life lesson” for his family and told him to “ignore the haters.”
Many admitted that they themselves had been tricked by the prank, but were relieved that he was alive.