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Woman tried to poison mother in plot inspired by Breaking Bad, court told Woman tried to poison mother in plot inspired by Breaking Bad, court told
(35 minutes later)
A woman tried to kill her mother by lacing her Diet Coke with poison in a murder plot inspired partly by Breaking Bad, a court has heard.A woman tried to kill her mother by lacing her Diet Coke with poison in a murder plot inspired partly by Breaking Bad, a court has heard.
Kuntal Patel, 37, allegedly slipped abrin to her “controlling and selfish” mother, Meena, 60, after she forbade her from marrying her boyfriend. Patel bought the deadly poison from a site based in the US using the virtual currency bitcoin.Kuntal Patel, 37, allegedly slipped abrin to her “controlling and selfish” mother, Meena, 60, after she forbade her from marrying her boyfriend. Patel bought the deadly poison from a site based in the US using the virtual currency bitcoin.
She allegedly watched her mother, who sits on the bench at Thames magistrates court, drink the substance at her home in Stratford, east London, last December. The mother survived and Patel set about obtaining a stronger dose of the poison, the prosecution said.She allegedly watched her mother, who sits on the bench at Thames magistrates court, drink the substance at her home in Stratford, east London, last December. The mother survived and Patel set about obtaining a stronger dose of the poison, the prosecution said.
The alleged plot was said to have been inspired partly by Breaking Bad, the US series that follows the story of chemistry teacher Walter White who turns to cooking crystal meth with a former student after being diagnosed with cancer. White uses ricin in attempts to kill rivals; abrin is more poisonous than ricin, the court heard. The alleged plot was said to have been inspired partly by Breaking Bad, the US series that follows the story of a chemistry teacher, Walter White, who turns to cooking crystal meth with a former student after being diagnosed with cancer. White uses ricin in attempts to kill rivals; abrin is more poisonous than ricin, the court heard.
Patel, who works as a graphic designer for Barclays in Canary Wharf, was arrested in January following an investigation by the FBI, jurors at London’s Southwark crown court heard. Patel, who works as a graphic designer for Barclays in Canary Wharf, was arrested in January following an FBI investigation, jurors at London’s Southwark crown court heard.
Jonathan Polnay, prosecuting, said: “To the outside world, the Patels must have seemed a highly respectable and happy family.” But beneath this veneer of a happy and successful Hindu family lay a tale of discord, bullying and abuse. Jonathan Polnay, prosecuting, said: “To the outside world, the Patels must have seemed a highly respectable and happy family.” But beneath this veneer lay a tale of discord, bullying and abuse.
He told jurors that details of the case were “so extreme that if they were the plot of a Hollywood or Bollywood film, you would say they are far-fetched”. He said details of the case were “so extreme that if they were the plot of a Hollywood or Bollywood film, you would say they are far-fetched”.
He went on: “The evidence will show that in private, Meena Patel – the magistrate who worked in domestic violence and race relations – was not a nice woman at all. She would regularly use foul and abusive language, including highly racist language. She would, on occasions, be violent. “The evidence will show that in private, Meena Patel, the magistrate who worked in domestic violence and race relations, was not a nice woman at all. She would regularly use foul and abusive language, including highly racist language. She would, on occasions, be violent,” he said.
“She was highly manipulative and controlling – she would seek to control every aspect of her daughters’ lives. And worst of all, she forbade Kuntal from marrying the man she loved, Niraj Kakad. Meena Patel was all of those things – manipulative, controlling and selfish. But she did not deserve to die.” “She was highly manipulative and controlling. She would seek to control every aspect of her daughters’ lives, and worst of all she forbade Kuntal from marrying the man she loved, Niraj Kakad. Meena Patel was all of those things – manipulative, controlling and selfish. But she did not deserve to die.”
Polnay said Kuntal Patel concocted the murder plot so she could marry the man she loved. “Inspired, in part, by the US television series Breaking Bad, she acquired a deadly toxin called abrin, a close relation to ricin, which you may have heard of. She acquired it over the dark web from a vendor in the USA. She paid using bitcoins, a virtual, electronic currency, and used layer upon layer of encryption to try to cover her tracks,” he told the jury. Polnay said Kuntal Patel concocted the murder plot so she could marry Kakad. “Inspired, in part, by the US television series Breaking Bad, she acquired a deadly toxin called abrin, a close relation to ricin, which you may have heard of. She acquired it over the dark web from a vendor in the USA. She paid using bitcoins, a virtual, electronic currency, and used layer upon layer of encryption to try to cover her tracks,” he told the jury.
Appearing in the dock dressed all in black, Patel denied trying to murder her mother and acquiring a biological agent or toxin. She has pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to acquire a biological agent or toxin last December. The case continues. Appearing in the dock dressed in black, Patel denied trying to murder her mother and acquiring a biological agent or toxin. She has pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to acquire a biological agent or toxin last December. The case continues.