A plastic surgeon who stabbed a fellow doctor and tried to set fire to his home in a “murderous expedition” to get him “out of the way” has been jailed for life.
Peter Brooks, a 61-year old consultant specialising in burns and plastics, was jailed for a minimum of 22 years on Monday after attempting to murder his colleague Graeme Perks at his family’s home in the Nottinghamshire village of Halam.
After cycling to Mr Perks’ house through the snow in the early hours of 14 January 2021 – wearing camouflage gear and armed with a crowbar, petrol, matches and a knife – Brooks proceeded to stab his victim and douse the ground floor of the property in petrol, the trial heard.
Prior to the attempt on his life, Mr Perks had provided evidence in disciplinary proceedings against Brooks, who faced potentially losing his job with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, the jury heard.
When opening the prosecution’s case, Tracy Ayling KC had told the trial it was “clear that the defendant hated Graeme Perks” and wanted him “out of the way”.
Mr Perks, who was 65 at the time, had retired the month before the attack but suffered “extremely life-threatening” injuries to his liver, intestines and pancreas, and was given a 95 per cent chance of death.
He woke up when Brooks smashed through his conservatory, and went downstairs where his feet “felt a bit damp” from the petrol before he felt a “blow to his body”. Brooks had also thrown petrol up the stair walls while Mr Perks’ wife Bev and youngest son Henry were sleeping upstairs, the court was told.
Following the attack, the defendant was found asleep on a garden bench later that morning and was taken to hospital for injuries to his hand, and was arrested.
Jailing him at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Mr Justice Pepperall said Brooks had committed “appalling” crimes after setting off from his home on a “murderous expedition”.
He sentenced Brooks to a minimum of 22 years – with time spent in prison already taking that to 17 years and 223 days – for the two counts of attempted murder, with sentences of six years for arson and 18 months for possessing a knife to run concurrently.
But Brooks, who was “voluntarily absent” from his month-long trial because he was on hunger strike and said he would “rather be dead than incarcerated”, did not appear in person for the sentencing hearing on Monday after refusing to leave his cell.
Brooks’ convictions followed a four-year series of legal hearings, including a mistrial and seven other abandoned trial dates.
Mr Justice Pepperall previously told the court that, on “no fewer than eight occasions” since 2021, Brooks had “used hunger strikes or the threat of some other self-harm to achieve some advantage”.
Prosecutors said Brooks was “manipulative” and had shown no remorse for what he had done, with Ms Ayling KC saying: “He believes himself to be not guilty of the offences. He believes he has been unlawfully tried.”
But Stephen Leslie KC, defending, said it was a “single act of violence” and that there was no pre-planning beyond the day of the attack. He said Brooks had petrol in his garage because he was a motorbike enthusiast and that he is “beginning to show remorse” for what he had done.
The defence laywer told the court: “He has done a lot of good in the world for many people. He should be provided with a chance to reform himself. There is still good in him.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court by the prosecution, Mr Perks said the incident had been an “unimaginable catastrophe” for him and his family.
He said: “This has been a nightmare for my wife and son who must have wondered if I was going to survive. This has been beyond every struggle in our lives so far.”
But he added: “I have no ill-feelings, hatred or bitterness towards my ex-colleague and derive no satisfaction from the guilty conviction.
“It is just another interesting chapter in life, and I wish his family well.
“I remain eternally grateful that it was me, not Bev or Henry who were stabbed, and reflect how ironic that a burns surgeon should wish to immolate our family.”
Henry Perks, Mr Perks' son, described Brooks as a “highly dangerous and remorseless individual” and “nothing more than a bully”, adding: “He simply has no morals, sees no wrong in his actions and will stop at nothing to hurt those he perceives to have wronged him.
“I have no doubt his failure to silence my father will consume his mind and make him dangerous in the years after his release.”
Additional reporting by PA
