London woman accused of Breaking Bad inspired murder plot, funded poison purchase with Bitcoin

A London, UK woman has been accused in the Southwark Crown Court of plotting to murder her "evil" mother by poisoning her with abrin purchased over the dark web with Bitcoin .

Kuntal Patel considered her mother "controlling and manipulative", allegedly ruining her hopes of marrying the man she loved. Prosecutor Jonathon Polnay further described:

“Inspired, in part, by the U.S. television series Breaking Bad, she acquired a deadly toxin called abrin, a close relation to ricin. 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.”

Patel had paid £900 (about $1,500) for the abrin on Black Market Reloaded, with which she allegedly spiked a can of diet coke. But the poison had no effect because it was ruined by the acid present. Abrin is a protein derived from seeds of the rosemary pea and is thus denatured in acidic environments. She had e-mailed her seller that “something had gone wrong” and asked for a more potent batch.

Patel was arrested after local authorities got a tip from the FBI, which was keeping tabs on the marketplace. Patel maintains that she bought the poison to commit suicide.