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Jury rejects Breaking Bad poison murder plot | Jury rejects Breaking Bad poison murder plot |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A woman has been acquitted of trying to poison her mother in a Breaking Bad-inspired plot. | A woman has been acquitted of trying to poison her mother in a Breaking Bad-inspired plot. |
Kuntal Patel, 37, had denied trying to murder her magistrate mother Meena Patel by putting abrin in her drink. | |
The jury found Patel guilty of acquiring a biological agent or toxin. She will be sentenced on 7 November. | |
Southwark Crown Court heard she had been angry with her mother, who "forbade" her from marrying her US-based boyfriend. | |
Fantasised about killing | Fantasised about killing |
Patel, of Plaistow in east London, said she contacted a US site on the "dark web" and talked about needing a "tasteless" and deadly toxin to get her mother "out of the way". | |
The court heard Mrs Patel, who sits on the bench at Thames Magistrates' Court, was "hell-bent" on breaking up her daughter's relationship. | |
She locked Patel in their home, beating and bullying her in a bid to get her to stop seeing Niraj Kakad, jurors were told. | |
Patel, a Barclays Bank graphic designer who volunteered at the London Olympics, admitted fantasising about killing her. | Patel, a Barclays Bank graphic designer who volunteered at the London Olympics, admitted fantasising about killing her. |
She told jurors: "It was as if I was thinking through it as if I was in my own TV programme or a character in Breaking Bad. | |
"I was in a really strange place in my mind." | |
What is abrin? | What is abrin? |
Source: Prof David Osselton, Bournemouth University | Source: Prof David Osselton, Bournemouth University |
The two-week trial heard that Patel, who was brought up a strict Hindu, had never had a boyfriend or a Valentine's Day card, and was desperate to settle down and have children. | The two-week trial heard that Patel, who was brought up a strict Hindu, had never had a boyfriend or a Valentine's Day card, and was desperate to settle down and have children. |
She struck up a relationship with Mr Kakad, who lived in Phoenix, Arizona, on the Asian dating website Shaadi.com. | |
The pair became engaged on Thanksgiving in November 2012 but their relationship later broke up. | |
The poison was allegedly hidden in a red wax candle and delivered to London. | |
Patel said she "panicked" when she picked the package up and threw it away. | |
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for just over three hours. | The jury of six men and six women deliberated for just over three hours. |