A woman has been jailed for four months for trying to force her elderly father to kill himself because he had become a financial burden on the family.

The victim’s grandson, who is also on trial, allegedly handed him a gun and told him to “shoot himself” for the financial sake of the family.

Teal Peters, 56, was jailed on charges relating to recklessly subjecting an individual at risk to abuse by a court in Brown County in the US state of Wisconsin earlier this month.

The case began in the summer of 2019 when the Brown County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home on Moon Drive in Howard to check on a potentially suicidal 81-year-old man, whose name has not been disclosed.

Officers uncovered several inconsistencies surrounding the elderly man’s circumstances and began to investigate the family.

Detective Sgt Zak Holschbach said he “was able to uncover a deeper conspiracy involving a very toxic family dynamic” and crimes against the victim.

Charges were later filed against four family members, Mary Peters, 81, Teal Peters, 55, Troy Peters, 58, and Justin Juranitch, 31.

The charges against the victim’s wife, Mary Peters, were dropped shortly afterwards.

According to the news site Wbay, the authorities found out that family members were trying to force the victim to commit suicide so he would no longer be a burden on the family.

The victim said his family convinced him that he was a “burden” and that they would all be better off without him.

He reached a breaking point when Justin gave him a “homemade-looking gun” and allegedly told him to shoot himself.

The victim added: “He sat right in front of me and handed me the gun saying ‘here grandpa, use it’.”

Justin Juranitch is expected to stand trial for Recklessly Endangering Safety, False Imprisonment, and Recklessly Subjecting an Individual at Risk to Abuse on 8th November.

Troy Peters has a jury trial scheduled for March next year.

It is unclear if any other family members are facing charges.

No update on the victim’s health status has been given.