Plastic Surgeon Sentenced to Prison for Attempted Murder of Colleague

A plastic surgeon has been sentenced to life in prison for attempting to murder a colleague who was set to testify against him in disciplinary proceedings. Jonathan Peter Brooks was found guilty of breaking into Graeme Perks’s home in Halam, Nottinghamshire, in the early hours of January 14, 2021. He was dressed in camouflage gear and armed with a crowbar, cans of petrol, matches, and a knife.

During a trial in Loughborough, it was revealed that Mr. Perks had a “95% chance of dying” after being stabbed by Brooks. Brooks chose not to attend his trial, citing a hunger strike, and was convicted of attempted murder in April. On Monday, he was sentenced to a minimum term of 22 years.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Edward Pepperall noted that Brooks’s life had been “falling apart” in January 2021, as he faced the impending loss of his job and home due to the ongoing disciplinary action at work. The judge addressed Brooks, who specialized in burns and plastic surgery at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, saying, “You were fixated on your employment difficulties. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of those difficulties, you blamed Graeme Perks.”

Judge Pepperall described Brooks’s “simmering sense of grievance” towards Mr. Perks, which prompted him to prepare for a “murderous expedition.” Brooks cycled through the snow to Mr. Perks’s home, smashed through conservatory doors, and poured petrol throughout the ground floor with the intention of setting the house on fire.

Mr. Perks, a consultant plastic surgeon who had recently retired, was awakened by the break-in and initially mistook Brooks for his son, Henry, before being stabbed in the abdomen.

Judge Pepperall emphasized the contradiction in Brooks’s actions, stating, “You [Brooks] must have had substantial professional experience treating those who have suffered appalling and painful burns, and yet you attempted to set a fire in the middle of the night intending to kill your former colleague and to endanger any other occupants as they lay sleeping in their beds. Additionally, you were a trained surgeon, yet you plunged a knife into your colleague’s body, penetrating his liver, pancreas, duodenum, and inferior vena cava with the same murderous intent.”

The court had previously heard that Mr. Perks’s injuries were extremely serious, including a bleeding liver, pancreatic injuries, and a life-threatening injury to the back of the abdomen. He survived only due to “quick action and amazing surgical skill,” the court was informed.

Judge Pepperall remarked that he detected no remorse in Brooks, but rather “a fixed view that you were hounded out of your employment by what you describe as the ‘medical mafia’ and self-pity regarding your current situation.”

In victim impact statements presented to the court, Mr. Perks and his family discussed the lasting effects of the attack. Mr. Perks, who was 65 at the time, now faces ongoing health issues, including chronic swelling in his legs, prominent varicose veins, and heart problems that require lifelong medication.

Mr. Perks reported that his recollection of the attack after leaving intensive care was “limited,” which he considered “a plus.” However, his wife, Beverley, remarked that he appeared “more inhibited than before.” Remarkably, Mr. Perks stated that he held “no ill feeling, hatred, or bitterness” towards his former colleague. “It is just another interesting chapter in life, and I wish his family well,” he added, noting the irony that a surgeon specializing in burns would wish to “immolate” another person.