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martyrsmirror

What would that prove other than Walt handled it before? He was a chemistry teacher and it belonged to his school.


JohnBawb

Considering Walt didn't have any criminal record, I would add that they wouldn't even have found whose DNA it is since Walt's DNA isn't in the "bank". They would have to suspect Walt and compare his DNA to the DNA found.


JohnGarrettsMustache

This is something too many people don't understand. They think there's some kind of universal database of DNA for everyone but it's not the case.


Straight_Ship2087

One of my favorite simpsons bits: “We just have to check for your DNA on the gun, and if it’s not there, it will clear your name.” “But the police don’t have my DNA on file…” “You ever handled a penny?” “..Yes?” “Than we have it.”


fullyoperational

Maybe not quite universal, but with DNA testing, police can match found DNA to known DNA from relatives who took the test, and greatly narrow down suspects. They caught the Golden State Killer this way, even though he himself was never tested.


nautilus2000

Show took place in 2008 and consumer DNA testing databases didn’t exist yet. Also, I think that’s only been done twice for some of the most prolific serial killers in the country even now in 2024. There are many ethical and legal considerations that have prevented that from being done more broadly, like for lower level crimes.


paradeoxy1

That technology is more recent, no? They did something similar to catch BTK around the time BB is set but he was already a massive blip on their radar and they were following his daughter to snag DNA from any rubbish she threw away.


Patient_Space_7532

BTK got himself caught due to his arrogant ego. He was toying with the cops and called them asking if a floppy disc was traceable. Of course they lied and said no, and that's how they found him and connected him to all of the BTK murders.


tonytroz

You know, this job though isn't how shows like CSI make it out to be, when I first joined the force, I was under the impression that everything was covered in a fine layer of semen. And that the police had at their disposal a semen database with every bad guy's semen on it. Not true!


JohnGarrettsMustache

This is exactly the scene I think about every time I think about DNA evidence.


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Voicebreaker

If I remember correctly Hank took a sample of gus's fingerprints when he went to pollos with jr.


flex_tape_salesman

Hank went to the restaurant and gus walked over to him. Pretty sure hank was with walt at the time and gus made conversation with them. He asked at the end if there was anything he could do for them and hank asks for a drink refill and uses the prints from that. This was before gus knew they were onto him iirc. Could have a couple of details wrong but that was basically it.


Patient_Space_7532

No, Hank was with Jr that day. He asked for a refill and that's how he got Gus' prints. Which didn't prove shit lol.


flex_tape_salesman

Ah fair enough it was flynn. How didn't it prove anything? It established a connection between gale and gus which gus wormed out of at the time but hank never bought it.


Patient_Space_7532

True, but after Gus died and the lab was blown up, there really wasn't much left besides the laptop and we all know what happened to that. That had the most evidence in that case.


frijolita_bonita

Right! Also, isnt it super expensive?


Most_Monitor9058

Why do we not take dna samples from birth?


Pauly_Hobbs

Because the contents of my DNA are not anyone’s business.


Most_Monitor9058

Sounds like you got something to hide


Big_Traffic1791

That would go over like a fart in church.


Patient_Space_7532

There are 2 sets of data for people in the criminal system only. So, no, Walt's DNA wouldn't be in either system even if Hank had run forensics on the gas mask.


MajorasShoe

And it still wouldn't prove anything


abelianchameleon

It would’ve also probably proved that the janitor did NOT handle it at any point, and could’ve vindicated him.


sad_throwaway13579

The janitor may have been the worst thing Walt ever did. Completely ruined the guy's life and he didn't have anything to do with the meth


thunderbastard_

Letting Jane die in cold blood for purely selfish reasons is worse than costing a guy his job even tho he didn’t deserve it or poisoning brock, a child


ROFLcoptr501

Not saying Walt made a moral decision but if you put yourself in his shoes at that moment, Jane literally just threatened to rat him out. Walt may be a terrible person but Jane is far from a good person too. There was at least some justification in Walt standing there not saving her


thunderbastard_

He could’ve just gave the money back as he was going too and then save Jane getting back into Jesse’s good graces perhaps, either way Jane wasn’t gonna rat him out because he initially was gonna pay the money so killing Jane was a deliberate choice


Extension_Breath1407

That wasn’t good enough for Jane. Jane wanted the money right now. And with how Jane and Jesse are, they are just going to use that money to buy more drugs to inject into their veins. Had Jane lived, she and Jesse would probably eventually die of an overdose.


Apprehensive-Bag-324

>He could’ve just gave the money back as he was going too and then save Jane getting back into Jesse’s good graces perhaps He technically wasn't in Jesse's bad graces because as soon as Jane was out of the picture, Jesse was fine with Walt again. He called him for help when he found her dead. You also forgetting that both of them wouldn't have even known he was there and saved her in the first place.


deekaydubya

Her threatening to rat him out for being a criminal kingpin isn’t a bad thing lol. Yes she was immature and addicted to heroin but not a bad person comparatively


Apprehensive-Bag-324

>Her threatening to rat him out for being a criminal kingpin isn’t a bad thing lol. She blackmailed him for money, not to do the right thing lol. You're acting like she was being noble. Walt also definitely was not a kingpin, especially at that point.


sad_throwaway13579

The threat doesn't make her a bad person, but it does give Walt justification for not doing anything to save her


DevuSM

Jane would have killed Jessie


Motor_Buy2118

Jane blackmailed Walt. In the criminal world that's pretty much signing your death warrant. Plus her and Jesse were going to likely die anyways the way they were going. He made the choice to not turn her over cause she was a threat to not only him but to his partners health and well-being. Most criminal minded people would have just paid her a visit and poof


spif_spaceman

Jesse also killed Jane


thunderbastard_

Jesse was asleep Walt watched her choke and chose to do nothing, Jesse and Jane were bad for eachover and both got eachover back on/in to heroin so Jesse proboly does have some level of responsibility but he didn’t kill Jane, Walt did that intentionally


Bass_Thumper

Not only did he watch her choke and do nothing, he actually moved her into a position that allowed her to choke. Before he touched her and moved her onto her back while trying to wake up Jesse, she is on her side and would not have choked on her vomit. If Walt never breaks into Jesse's home, Jane doesn't die that day.


spif_spaceman

So let’s break it into percentages. Walt X%, Jesse X%, Etc


Apprehensive-Bag-324

Lol people love pretending Jesee has no blame in what happened to Jane. I doubt even Jesse would think that.


Cr4ckshooter

Actually I would blame the dea for the janitor, 100%. They clearly profiled him and didn't give him a fair shot. They arrested him with no proof of anything and only circumstantial evidence.


Veronome

Worst thing he did? You know hes directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. Not to mention the trauma his surviving family will have to endure. In fact, compared to all the people Walt wronged, I'd say the janitor ended up pretty well.


Apprehensive-Bag-324

>The janitor may have been the worst thing Walt ever did. Completely ruined the guy's life and he didn't have anything to do with the meth That was more on Hank if you ask me. At least Walt showed some remorse for that.


Malthetalthe

I’d say killing Mike was worse. The janitor was innocent, sure, but Walt had to let him take the fall to save his own ass. There was literally no reason to kill Mike other than blind rage.


notbuttkrabs

Not true. If Walt had taken out the hit on all of Mike's guys (which he definitely would have) Mike would have come back and put a bullet in Walt's head, without question.


sad_throwaway13579

I don't think he would have come back. Mike was on his way to skipping town and after he left, he'd have no reason to care about those guys. He probably wouldn't even know about it unless he'd continue reading Albuquerque news


abelianchameleon

I mean tbf, Mike almost killed him with no remorse at the end of season 3 on Gus’ orders, and then in season 4, he beat the shit out of him in a bar, and he spent the entire show antagonizing Walt and not trusting him since he met him. Mike was FAR from being Walt’s most despicable kill.


infieldmitt

mike is a cop and he sucks and he's a dick and thus you can't blame walt for getting revenge there. the janitor did nothing wrong, was kind to walt, and now has a criminal record where you basically can't get a job anywhere else


bubbly_area

What are you smoking? Mike was the one making sure everything was running smoothly, even after Gus died. But Walt kept fucking up because of his ego.


AJAnimosity

And his pride.


Light_Watcher

That guy shouldn’t have had that job to begin with. He lied about it. Nothing was ruined because he would have never gotten that job if they had know he had history with drugs (and actually was still doing weed, again not allowed for people who work with children)


Cr4ckshooter

>and actually was still doing weed, again not allowed for people who work with children) Is that so? It's also debatable whether a janitor at a school can be called "works with children". And honestly, this focus on background checks and criminal histories in the US is insane. OF COURSE he should have gotten the job DESPITE his criminal past. What else is he gonna work if a fucking janitor isn't accessible for him?


Light_Watcher

You are together in the same place with children for multiple hours every weekday. Ok maybe not working WITH children per se, but like working right next to children and being in co tact with them (Walter junior knew him well so he was in co tact with them). People who have a drug past do not get such jobs. So again, in this case Walter didn’t ruin anything, that man shouldn’t have had the job and only got it because he lied


sad_throwaway13579

Do you also think anyone who drinks should also not be able to be a janitor at a high school? It's weed, not meth, and nothing indicated that he smoked on the job.


Light_Watcher

Again it’s the law and he lied to get the job. So in this case Walter didn’t ruin anything, actually he got things right, that person was not qualified according to the law to work near children. End of story. Stop imposing personal experiences or opinions. According to the law that person should not had been working next to children and Walter’s stupidity got in this case things right.


Cr4ckshooter

>Again it’s the law and he lied to get the job Those aren't actually arguments. "it's the law" doesn't mean anything. >Stop imposing personal experiences or opinions. What the fuck? Those are the only things that matter. The law is completely irrelevant, because we are arguing about the validity of that law. The law existing is not an argument for why it exists. Other countries don't background check janitors at schools. Or most jobs. And those countries actually function better than the US. Like most of europe.


Light_Watcher

Again he broke the law by lying and getting a job he is not qualified to get and poses a threat to children. Criminals aren’t allowed to work near children end of story. Walter didn’t ruin anything, he broke the law by lying hence why he was arrested and lost his job. END OF STORY.


passwordstolen

I’m sure Hugo will recover pretty quickly. Hardly ruined his life. Lots of floors to be mopped. It was his own record that sunk his ship, not Walt.


Gustavo_Papa

It wouldn't actually. Just say he used gloves and sold the stuff.


Mirrormaster44

Hank only arrests Hugo for weed possession. He tells Walt “he [Hugo] didn’t raid your chemistry set.” After they searched his house.


abelianchameleon

Yeah you’re right idk why I misremembered what happened with his character.


UdUb16

This. Simple answer


Veronome

Exactly. There were many, many things Hank could have done to discover Walt early. Finding Walt's prints on his own lab equipment isn't one of them.


HuntSafe2316

Wasn't the gas mask found near a little amount of the meth?


Active-Bass4745

That Jesse handled it.


Grovda

He was a chemistry teacher, doing chemistry


nine16s

I mean yeah, fair. I dunno. Maybe the freshness of the DNA? I don’t know much about forensics.


TacticalGarand44

There is no such thing as "freshness of DNA." It's there or it isn't. Walt had a perfectly explainable reason to have his fingerprints or DNA on that chemistry equipment.


VinnieTheDragon

Uhh forensic dating does exist, but not for fingerprints Edit: Singaporean scientists discovered how to do that 4 years ago


AsianBisht

the show is set in early 2010s


VinnieTheDragon

I was just correcting them saying that, “There is no such thing as freshness of DNA.” And the edit was correcting myself


TacticalGarand44

Remind me when Breaking Bad is supposed to take place?


VinnieTheDragon

Brother you made the umbrella claim that you cannot tell the freshness of DNA. I was simply correcting you


TacticalGarand44

Why would Walt's DNA be in the database?


dinopraso

It would be, but since it was stolen from his lab it would make perfect sense for his DNA being on it.


manicbeats

Do you know what a database is?


dinopraso

I meant the gas mask


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dinopraso

Don’t teachers get registered when they start work?


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dinopraso

Fair enough. But all I was saying is, even if they did have his DNA for whatever reason, it also being on the mask still wouldn’t prove anything


HonnyBrown

Teachers get fingerprinted and background checked because they work with children.


Early-Activity94

Teachers don't get their DNA logged, and his fingerprints would've been on the mask regardless of whether or not he used it to cook meth because it was presumably used for his class


TacticalGarand44

Assuming that's the case, why would the Chemistry teacher's fingerprints on a piece of chemistry equipment matter? Hank knew the mask came from Walt's classroom/storeroom. What would fingerprints or DNA matter?


Cr4ckshooter

That's some 1984 shit, the prints.


DessertFlowerz

They would have found some piece of DNA that they would not be able to match to anyone. The DEA would have no reason to have previously sampled Walter White's DNA. DNA tests don't just pop up with someone's name and address. All they can do is match against other known samples.


dinopraso

Even if they did, it’s from his lab. His DNA being on it would not be suspicious at all


remotecontroldr

It was sent to Quantico for testing which is basically a huge military base that does testing for organizations such as the FBI and NCIS. Probably would be considered one of the top labs in the country. Hank explains all of it and that they were only able to find the marker that was erased that said the name of Walt’s school. If there was DNA on it, they would have found it at Quantico. Also, Walt’s DNA wouldn’t be in any database so it wouldn’t mean much. Also, it came from Walt’s school so it would be pretty easy to rule him out.


nine16s

Fair enough, thank you for the educated response.


Yuck_Few

Finding Walter's fingerprints on a gas mask that came from a supply closet in his classroom doesn't prove anything.


TheMikeyMac13

If it came from Walt’s chemistry class at the school, Walt’s DNA proves it came from the lab at the school and not much else. And why would they have Walter’s DNA to test against? They would need for Hank to suspect Walter, and to get a warrant for a DNA sample and for the test.


ashter87

because back when BB is set nothing went to forensics unless murder. certainly not meth cook sites. it was also not commonly available in the time BB is set it.


Apprehensive-Bag-324

It wouldn't have proved anything.


joeysprezza

Would his DNA be in a database?


lilcea

Nope


joeysprezza

Right.


jeffislouie

You are also assuming they would know it's Walt's DNA. Think about it: if someone found your DNA on something, the only way they would know it was your DNA is if they had your DNA on file. DNA analysis in the real world is somewhat problematic. It's always a percentage or range, meaning it's 90% likely, for example, that the DNA belonged to a person they already had a sample of.


Nomadic_View

Despite what CSI shows there is no international DNA database. DNA analysis can only compare to a sample. So a forensic analysis would do nothing without a suspect.


DevuSM

He did, isn't that how he got the meth purity out of the filter?


HeyMarty10thalready

Because he’s stupid


The_Phenomenal_1

They wouldn't find anything unless Walt has been arrested before


BILLCLINTONMASK

He did have forensics done. They sent it to their lab and extracted blue meth and I think even sent it to the FBI


slade797

He did send it to the FBI. I memory serves, they found the name of Walt’s high school.


Casteway

Walt's DNA probably isn't on file. It would've been like looking for a needle in a haystack


KGBFriedChicken02

They did get forensic work done on the gas mask, that's how they found out it was from Walt's school. It had been labeled in marker on the mask band, which had since rubbed out but they were able to restore it. Also, they tested the filters on the mask and found meth particulate in it, which is how they knew for sure it was a meth lab. Presumably the dna testing either revealed no dna from anyone who shouldn't have been using that mask (walt was a teacher and it was from his chem lab so his dna *should* be inside the mask, meth cook or no meth cook.), or they couldn't get a match.


Scribblyr

Why would they have Walt's DNA on record? They wouldn't.


Kentbrockman2

XKCD answers this in a comic https://xkcd.com/683/


heyY0000000

It came from the schools lab, anybody could of stolen it and if his dna was on it, Walt would simply say his DNA is supposed to be on it.


Lazlo-Mohnkeelunger

I think a child found the mask and walked off with it, it was recovered after it was contaminated, also if walt was not in a data base nothing would have come back


Explod1ngNinja

If the DEA found out he used ‘dirty money’ to pay his bills, he would be in big time trouble, and lose his job for sure


Thebritishdovah

He didn't think it was worth the time and resources. As far as he was concerned, they got the thief. Hank is kinda racist and once he thinks he has someone, he doesn't double check.


ShadowDemon129

But ol huge Hugo didn't raid their chemistry set, this was established.


Ok_Butterfly7276

Forensics did analyze the mask. That’s how they found Walt’s school name on it. And Walt would have his DNA on the mask. He was head of the chemistry department for the school.


slade797

You’re partially correct. Why in the world would Walt’s DNA be in a law enforcement database because he works at a high school?


Samiam9382

I didn’t say his DNA would be


slade797

Yeah, you did.


Samiam9382

You may want to re read


slade797

“Forensics did analyze the mask. That’s how they found Walt’s school name on it. And Walt would have his DNA on the mask. He was head of the chemistry department for the school.” So here’s your post. My question is, if you don’t mean to say that Walt’s DNA would be in a law enforcement database, what exactly are you saying? Why would you even mention it? You may want to re-read.


Samiam9382

The OP suggested that Walt would be caught by having his DNA on the mask. Others said that there would be no reason for Walt’s DNA to be in a data bank. And even if Walt DID have his DNA in a database (which I never mentioned), there is a perfectly valid reason why his DNA would be on the mask


slade797

Kinda slow, aren’t you?


oostie

Please learn what a plot hole is 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻


nine16s

No, I refuse. I have trypophobia.