Father Who Dared Son to Kill Himself Commits Suicide Too

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. — A guilt-ridden father who dared his son to carry out repeated suicide threats and then watched in horror as the son killed himself bought an identical gun and took his own life, police said Tuesday.

Abe Lifsey, 70, was removed from life-support systems and died at North Miami General Hospital on Monday, four days after shooting himself in the head with a .38-caliber revolver.

On Jan. 4, Lifsey handed a .38-caliber revolver to his son, Barry, 40, and dared him to carry out his suicide threats.

As his father, mother and daughter watched, Barry Lifsey, who had been drinking and was said to be still distraught over a divorce 11 years earlier as well as a business failure, fired a bullet into his head and fell dead in the family’s North Miami living room.