A high school art teacher in Missouri is facing charges of first-degree attempted murder and armed criminal action after allegedly using a plant to poison her husband - as seen in the hit TV show Breaking Bad.
Sarah Scheffer, 47, was charged in connection with the alleged poisoning, which involved the use of the plant known as "lily of the valley", CBS News reports.
This disturbing case came to light after her husband expressed suspicions that she had been poisoning him over several weeks. He experienced various symptoms, including extreme fatigue, confusion, blurred vision, severe cottonmouth, and nausea after ingesting food and drinks provided by Scheffer.
Court documents revealed that Scheffer's husband pointed to eight separate instances where he had consumed items with an odd taste, all potentially tainted with poisonous substances. Two specific incidents were detailed in the court papers, one occurring on Christmas Eve and another on New Year's Day.
On New Year's Day, Scheffer's husband confronted her about the "bitter" taste of a drink he had been given. According to the documents, Scheffer initially claimed to have urinated in it but later admitted to adding an industrial-strength adhesive to the beverage. This revelation prompted her husband to take action.
He installed a hidden camera in the kitchen, which allegedly captured Scheffer handling a bag labeled "lily of the valley" on January 16.
The footage showed her adding items to a blender and using the plant's root, which she had photographed earlier that morning. She then prepared a smoothie containing the blended concoction for her husband.
Both the yellow tumbler and its contents were sent for testing. Scheffer reportedly admitted to intentionally adding the poisonous plant's root to the blender with the intent to harm her husband, acknowledging the potential lethal consequences and the illegal nature of her actions.
Breaking Bad fans may remember that the character Walter White, portrayed by Bryan Cranston, infamously used the plant "lily of the valley" to execute a diabolical and calculated plot.
In the fourth season of the hit show, White - who was also a high school teacher - finds himself facing a formidable adversary in the form of Gustavo "Gus" Fring, a drug kingpin.
Determined to eliminate Gus and save his life, Walter concocts a plan to poison a child named Brock - the son a woman dating White's cooking partner, Jesse Pinkman.
Walter uses the toxic plant "lily of the valley" to make Brock seriously ill, ultimately diverting suspicion away from himself. This sinister act, involving the innocent child, serves as a pivotal moment in Walter White's descent into moral darkness and solidifies his reputation as a morally ambiguous anti-hero.
The National Capital Poison Center describes "lily of the valley" as a "very poisonous" plant, containing cardiac glycosides that can slow down the heart and cause irregular heart rhythms.
Scheffer is currently being held without bond at Cole County Jail, with concerns that she might attempt to evade her court summons due to alleged connections with an individual in Pakistan and online searches for flights to the country.
