A teenager who tried to copy Breaking Bad by disposing of a body in acid has been found guilty of murder.
George Knights told the court in Maidstone, Kent, that he was inspired by the hit TV series, having killed Stephen Chapman by stabbing him in the head with his dad's Royal Marine dagger in October 2020.
Remembering the sequence in season one of the show, the 19-year-old stole his neighbour's plastic wheelie bin and dumped Mr Chapman's body inside.
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He then covered him in several bottles of high sulphuric concentrate drain cleaner, it was heard.
The court also heard that Knights, from Rochester, had access to the acid as he had been making amphetamine from his home, using the name Walter White - the main character from Breaking Bad - for a password reminder for his DVLA account.
Kent Police said that Knights and Mr Chapman had agreed to meet to discuss the sale of cocaine on the day of the murder.
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The following day Mr Chapman was reported as having gone missing, with officers discovering that Knights was one of the last people to have seen him alive.
A group of people who were searching for Mr Chapman at Knights' address told police they saw Knights running away.
When officers conducted a search of Knights' home, they found a 'significant' quantity of class A and class B drugs, blood-stained clothing and Mr Chapman's bank card and iPhone, the court heard.
According to reports, Mr Chapman's decomposing body was left in the bin in the teen's conservatory while he went out partying with friends.
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Knights had told the court that his actions were in self-defence, and that he felt his life was in danger.
However, Knights was found guilty of murder.
Speaking during the trial, Caroline Carberry QC prosecuting said: "George Knights's behaviour throughout 2020 was stranger than fiction.
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"This was a young man who inhabited a universe where he had set up his own amphetamine production at home, where a plan to hurt, to rob and, the prosecution say, to kill came, worryingly, very easily to him. This was no fantasy world."
Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Moss said: "Knights is a callous killer who has robbed Stephen Chapman of his life and deprived his family of a future with him.
"He has shown an appalling disregard for life and, on top of this, his efforts to dispose of the body deprived Mr Chapman's family of an opportunity to see him for a final time.
"His lack of remorse is clearly demonstrated by his decision to attend a party shortly after committing the offence."
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Sentencing will take place in September. No date has been set yet. The court also asked for psychiatric reports by 1 September.
Featured Image Credit: Kent PoliceTopics: kent, Police, TV and Film, crime, Breaking Bad, Drugs, Murder, court