An Australian nurse, Karenjeet Warburton, has been banned from healthcare for four years after paying a patient $3,000 to attack her ex-boyfriend, a senior Queensland police officer, Don McKay.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal found that Warburton asked a patient, Andrew Bown, to cut off McKay’s penis and tongue, burn his face with acid, and paralyse him by severing his spine. She also gave Bown photos of McKay and his home between April and October 2021.
Tribunal member Julie Dick said, “She had paid a significant amount and offered an even more significant amount to the proposed assailant.”
Warburton’s plan only stopped when police arrested her. She later pleaded guilty to attempting to procure grievous bodily harm and attempting to procure a malicious act with intent. She was sentenced to five years in jail but was to serve 16 months before suspension.
Bown, the patient, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for his role in the plan. He faced charges including arson and attempting to procure harm.
At the health tribunal, Warburton did not oppose the claims of misconduct. The tribunal’s ruling stated that she must reapply if she wishes to work in healthcare again, but she would face challenges including no recent practice.
“It is unfortunate that this serious behaviour has led to the respondent being in the difficult circumstances in which she now finds herself,” Ms Dick noted.
