Wis. Nurse Pleads No Contest to Amputating Man's Foot Without His Permission By Lesley Cosme Torres

A nurse in Wisconsin who amputated the foot of her patient without his permission — and wanted to display it in her family’s taxidermy shop — pleaded no contest to abusing a patient and will not face any jail time. 

Mary K. Brown, 40, will pay $443 in court fees and not face any jail time after she cut the foot off of a 62-year-old patient who was in her care at a nursing home in May 2022, KSTP, the Pierce County Journal and WQOW reported, citing court documents. The patient died days after the foot was removed, prompting the investigation that led to Brown’s arrest.

Brown had been facing two other charges — intentionally causing great bodily harm and mayhem, and physically abusing an elderly person — but those charges were dismissed as a part of the no contest plea, the outlet reported. 

Brown has agreed to not practice as a registered nurse or as a licensed practical nurse in the state of Wisconsin, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. 

In June 2022, investigators were contacted about the death of a patient at an assisted living facility by the county medical examiner, who said the body was sent for an autopsy because of the “unusual circumstances of his death,” NBC News previously reported.  

The medical examiner said the victim’s foot was not attached to his body, but “was rather lying beside him,” the outlet reported, citing authorities. The 62-year-old patient was initially taken to the center because of “severe frostbite” on both of his feet. 

The medical examiner then reviewed the victim’s medical chart, which said the foot had been amputated. According to court records, the amputation was done without a physician’s order. 

According to a criminal complaint obtained by NBC, nurses at the center said the foot was no longer fully attached to the 62-year-old’s leg, and was “black like a mummy.”

Brown allegedly used scissors to cut a tendon, which amputated the foot, the outlet reported, citing the criminal complaint. The foot was then put in a bag in a freezer, to be sent with him when he died. 

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One nurse said she was holding the victim’s hand, and he was holding hers “extremely tight and was moaning a little bit” when the nurse cut the tendon, NBC reported, citing the complaint. Another staffer said, “when they cut his foot off he felt everything and it hurt very bad.”

Another nurse said that during the amputation, Brown talked about how her family has a taxidermy shop and said “she was going to preserve the foot and put it on display with a sign that said ‘Wear your boots kids,’” per the outlet, which cited the complaint.