A nurse accused of cutting a mans foot off without permission to taxidermy it has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
Mary Brown, a 38-year-old nurse at a Wisconsin hospice in the US, allegedly cut off the 62-year-old man's foot after he suffered from frostbite.
She told investigators she wanted to give him some "dignity" when she allegedly cut off the limb on May 27 2022.
According to court documents, Brown told her colleagues at Spring Valley and Health Centre she wanted to display it at her family's taxidermy shop with a sign that said: "Wear your boots kids"
Brown now faces one count of physical abuse of an elderly person and another count of mayhem.
She faced a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for each charge.
Brown's alleged victim had been placed in the nursing home in March 2022 after falling at his home.
The heat hadn't been turned on and he had suffered frostbite to both feet which had become necrotic.
His right foot remained attached to his leg by a tendon and 2 inches of skin.
Brown did not have doctors' orders to conduct the amputation, court documents said, nor did he have the victim's permission to amputate the foot.
A facility administrator, Kevin Larson, told police that if a hospice doctor had been asked then he believes they would have approved the procedure.
Brown had been told to stabilise the man’s foot, which was only connected to a tendon because the man was so close to death.
When Brown later asked Mr Larson what to do with the foot, he assumed it may have fallen off rather than Brown cutting it off.
The accused, along with another nurse, told police they did not think the man felt any pain during the unauthorised procedure.
The man died around a week after the amputation but the criminal complaint gave no indication the amputation was a factor in his death.
Authorities were called after the Pierce County medical examiner conducting the autopsy found the man's foot "lying beside him" rather than attached.
Brown has since been fired from her role at Spring Valley and Health Centre.
Court records state Brown has been barred from working in any capacity as a caregiver, whether employed or as a volunteer.
