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Breaking Bad Series Triggers a String of Copycat Meth Crimes
May 24, 2014 by Adler Markoff & Associates
It was Oscar Wilde who is famed for saying, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life” but this recent crime streak takes that quote to a whole other level. Breaking Bad is a household name. Whether or not you’ve seen the show, chances are you’ve at least heard of it. The popular TV series tells the story of Walter White, a chemistry teacher living in New Mexico.

In a desperate attempt to get money for his family after learning that he had developed lung cancer, Mr. White turns to manufacturing methamphetamine. To make a long story short, this becomes more than just a way to earn money for Mr. White. It becomes his life, and one of the first successful TV “anti-heroes” is born.

Breaking Bad is one of the most-watched shows in TV viewing history. In fact, over 10 million people turned in to view the series finale alone. While some people would simply be content to enjoy the show, some took it a step further and committed crimes involving meth much like Walter White aka “Heisenberg” in the show.

Consider one of the more gruesome copycat crimes in which a Washington man strangled his girlfriend and attempted to dispose of her body by placing her in a plastic tub filled with sulfuric acid. Those who watched the show will no doubt remember the “body-falling-through-the-ceiling” scene in season 1. Just a coincident? Unfortunately, no. According to the man’s roommate, Breaking Bad was his favorite show and he watched that very episode for instructions on how to dispose of his girlfriend.

In the show, Heisenberg also becomes famous for his meth because it had a unique blue tint due to its clarity and quality. And just like that, meth manufacturers around the country began to develop recipes to make their methamphetamine blue, only they used blue food coloring. Law enforcement officials began to speak out with concerns that this new blue meth might attract children to eat it if they somehow got a hold of it.

There was even a case of a Boston man, a teacher much like Walter White, who was caught with 480 grams of meth. You might be tempted to think this is just another coincidence, until you learn that this teacher from Boston was actually living with stage 3 cancer. Another teacher, a chemistry teacher from Texas, was charged with manufacturing meth and selling it to students at his middle school.

Breaking Bad is entertainment, but unfortunately the entertainment aspect of the show has caused some to think lightly about the severity of the crimes that the show depicts. Don’t be tempted to let your life imitate this type of art. It could land you in prison.