It’s no mystery that a lot of famous movies and TV shows were inspired by real-life events. But less often, our reality is breached by actions of those who are trying to emulate characters from the entertainment world, and it looks like one of the most disgusting scenes in Breaking Bad had a part to play in a particularly heinous murder in France recently. Why couldn’t people have just been inspired to become chemistry teachers?
The episode in question was the Season 1 installment “Cat’s in the Bag,” in which Walter White commits his first murder when he sets off an explosion inside the RV and traps Jesse’s former partner Emilio inside, where he suffocated on deadly gases. That bit isn’t what happened in France, though, as the four people arrested there tried to mimic the next part of Emilio’s story, in which Walt and Jesse tried to dispose of the corpse by using acid to dissolve it inside a plastic container.
Three males and one female, aged 19 to 23, reportedly went to the Toulouse home of Eva Bourseau on either July 26 or 27, looking to retrieve over $6,000 owed to them over something drug-related. One of the suspects was referred to as the head of a drug trafficking network in which Bourseau was also involved. According to the French publication LeMonde, the suspects beat the victim to death with brass knuckles and a crowbar, and later brought over acid and a polyethylene trunk, where the body was eventually found in the fetal position after Bourseau’s mother and friend contacted authorities after not hearing from him. The suspects would reportedly return to the apartment on a daily basis, stealing Bourseau’s stuff, cleaning the rooms and checking on the body. They also used various chemicals and deodorizers to hide the smell.
Two of the men were indicted for murder, drug trafficking and robbery, while the third male was busted for instigation to murder by complicity, drug trafficking and robbery. The female was indicted for drug trafficking and was then placed under judicial supervision. According to the prosecutor, the suspects’ motivations in covering up the murder were directly inspired by Breaking Bad, which also gave the world blue meth .
I’m guessing that the Toulouse scene wasn’t quite as disgusting as it was on the show, or the suspects never would have went back to the apartment. Relive the scene below.
We really, really hope we won’t soon be hearing about decapitated criminals’ heads strapped to the backs of turtles, or about wheelchair bombs that blow people’s faces off.
