Dying man’s foot amputated so ex-nurse could put it in taxidermy shop, prosecutors say

A former nurse in Wisconsin is facing multiple felony charges after police said she cut off a dying man’s foot in order to display it at her family’s taxidermy shop.

Prosecutors filed charges last week against Mary K. Brown, 38, for physical abuse of an elder person — intentionally causing great bodily harm and mayhem, according to court records. 

It stems from an incident in May of this year when Ms. Brown was accused of cutting off the foot of a male patient who had developed necrosis from severe frostbite. He later died.

The man was originally admitted to the Spring Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center in March, and health officials believed he was close to dying, according to WQOW, an Eau Claire TV station.

The victim’s foot was held to the leg by a couple of tendons and skin as his condition worsened, ultimately leading Ms. Brown to cut the victim’s foot off on May 27.

“Brown had no doctor’s order to conduct an amputation. She stated that she did not have any authorization to remove victim’s foot. Brown did not have victim’s permission to amputate his foot,” according to the criminal complaint cited by KSTP, a St. Paul, Minnesota, TV station. “Administrators of the nursing home agreed that it was outside of the scope of Brown’s practice to conduct such a procedure and a doctor’s order was necessary prior to any amputation.”

A nursing home administrator told investigators that a doctor would likely have ordered the procedure, even though Ms. Brown did it without authorization. Ms. Brown told police she amputated his foot for comfort reasons, and that she would have wanted the same done to her in that situation, per WQOW.

But a nurse in the room with Ms. Brown during the amputation told police that the victim held the nurse’s hand tightly and moaned during the amputation. Another nurse told police she followed up with the victim, who told her he felt everything and that the amputation was painful.

A different nurse told police that Ms. Brown was going to preserve the foot and put it on display at her family’s taxidermy shop with a sign that said “Wear your boots, kids.”

The incident was initially flagged by the medical examiner in Pierce County, who told police that a foot had been removed from a body he was supposed to examine, according to KSTP.

A statement from the Spring Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center said Ms. Brown is no longer employed with it.

She is due in court Dec. 6.