1995’s movie, The Basketball Diaries, tells the story of a star student’s decent into the seedy underground world of heroin and violence on the streets of New York… not exactly a story you would expect to see in small town Paducah, Kentucky. But 14-year old Michael Carneal horrifies the nation when he reenacts the movie’s most violent scene with an unsuspecting group of students in a prayer circle. For while the theme of the movie is dark and disturbing, the Paducah high school freshman is on a quest for attention, seeking notoriety like the film’s star, Leonardo DiCaprio. He dreams of recreating the movie’s most violent scene, and before long, decides to act on his bloody fantasy. It’s a copycat killing that forever leaves a small town shaken to its core.
