The wife of a leading plastic surgeon has told a court how he collapsed in a poop of his own blood after being stabbed by a colleague who broke into her home in a row for a workplace disciplinary hearing.
Graeme Perks, 66, was placed in a medically-induced coma when Jonathan Peter Brooks allegedly attacked him on his £800,000 property in the village of Halam, Nottinghamshire, in January last year.
Brooks is said to have armed himself with it petrolMatches, a crowbar and a kitchen knife before cycling a mile from his nearby home and breaking into the property.
A jury has heard he wore full camouflage gear and smashed his way through a conservatory door before spurting fuel to kill his Mr. Perks in a wildfire.
The two had previously been colleagues at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust but prosecutors claim Brooks, 58, “hated” the retired father of four for being a witness at an ongoing disciplinary hearing against him.
Nottingham Crown Court has heard Mr Perks was woken by a loud noise and went downstairs to investigate but was confronted and stabbed in the stomach by Brooks.
The lead surgeon was subsequently hospitalized and placed in an induced coma after losing six liters of blood. He survived the attack, which would have killed 95 percent of the patients, solely because of “quick action and amazing surgical skills.”
Brooks, of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, denies attempted murder, attempted arson with intent to endanger life and possession of a bladed article.
Graeme Perks, 66, was placed in a medically-induced coma after the attack on his home in Halam, Nottinghamshire, in January last year
Jonathan Peter Brooks (pictured) stands trial at Nottingham Crown Court charged with attempted murder, attempted arson with intent to endanger life and possession of a bladed article
Police and forensics at the property in January last year following the alleged burglary and stabbing
Residents of the Perks family were “stunned” by the alleged attack.
A jury at Nottingham Crown Court was shown today a video interview given to police by Mr Perks’ wife, Beverley.
In it she described how her son Henry, a 19-year-old Royal Marine commando, went to bed around 10pm while her husband retired about an hour later.
She said her husband was disturbed by a noise around 4 a.m. She followed him downstairs and found that the house had been doused with gasoline.
Ms. Perks also noticed two cans of gasoline, both wrapped in supermarket bags, sitting in the hallway.
Fearing that the house might be on fire, she began rolling up a rug to put out any flames.
But moments later, Mr Perks emerged from the salon and hung to one side, telling her to “call an ambulance, I’ve been stabbed”.
Mr Perks then collapsed with “blood everywhere” before his wife ran upstairs to get a duvet to cover him while their son called 999.
Henry asked his father if he had seen an intruder, but he replied that all he had seen was a man with a headlamp and nothing else.
Ms Perks said it was less than 90 seconds before her husband left the bedroom and collapsed on the hallway floor.
A video interview Mr Perks gave to police after he left hospital had previously been played to the jury.
He told detectives he and his wife have four children and usually live alone in their home, but their youngest son, Henry, 29, stayed at home with them while he was on furlough from the Royal Marines.
Mr Perks told the court: “It was really unusual. It’s very quiet where we live and I realized something was seriously wrong.
“I remember running downstairs into the drawing room and there seemed to be a huge hole in the left hand conservatory door.
“I thought I smelled something unusual, but I wasn’t actually there. I vaguely remember my feet being damp. I saw a darkly dressed figure in the garden with his back to me.’
Mr Perks said the man was of a similar build to his son and in his confused state was initially concerned that Henry was “having a nervous breakdown for some reason”.
He told police he asked, “What the hell is going on, Henry?” before approaching the intruder.
Mr Perks, who has lived in the village with his wife Beverley for 30 years, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Queen’s Medical Center for surgery
Forensic officers were seen searching Mr Brooks’ £800,000 five-bedroom family home in Southwell, Nottinghamshire
The man turned, but Mr Perks was unable to identify him because of the searchlight and believed he might also be wearing a balaclava.
He continued: “Nothing was said and the next thing I remember was feeling a hit on my body.
“I put my hand on where I felt it was warm and sticky and I felt something sticking out of my stomach and I decided I must have been stabbed and that I had to get back to the house.
“I went back to the house, but after that I can’t remember anything.
“I remember that the character was standing on the lawn just outside the conservatory, and that’s where I approached her. I was completely confused as to what was going on. There was no speech. Nothing was said. The figure just turned around. I didn’t see anything, just felt a hit on my solar plexus.’
Mr Perks became emotional as he recalled spending eight days in an intensive care unit following the attack. During this time, he suffered from “rather terrible hallucinations” that his house was burning down and his family could not be saved.
After the alleged attack, Brooks was found “cold and asleep” in a garden and arrested at a hospital after being taken there by paramedics.
Tracy Ayling QC, prosecutor, told the jury that Brooks’ DNA was found on the knife and fragments of glass from the conservatory door were found on his clothing.
She said Brooks “hated” Mr. Perks and “wanted to get him out of the way.”
The process goes on.
