Plastic Surgeon Sentenced to Life for Attempting to Kill Coworker He Wanted ‘Out of the Way’

A plastic surgeon has been sentenced to life after attempting to kill his co-worker in Nottinghamshire, England.

On Monday, June 9, Peter Brooks, 61, was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison for trying to kill fellow medic, Graeme Perks, who he wanted “out of the way” because of an upcoming disciplinary hearing, the BBC reported.

Nottinghamshire Police said in a post-trial statement that Brooks had broken into his former colleague’s home and stabbed him on Jan. 14, 2021. He also poured gasoline on the home’s ground floor in the early hours of the morning.

According to the BBC, this came after Perks was a witness during disciplinary proceedings against Brooks, who worked in the burns and plastics department at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH).

“Brooks, who’d earlier cycled to the village of Halam carrying petrol and a knife, then fled the scene and returned to his home in nearby Southwell,” the police’s statement added. “He later required treatment for hypothermia and a cut to his hand after he was found asleep in the garden of a nearby house.”

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“His victim, a man in his 60s,  sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital,” Nottinghamshire police added.

The injuries were described as “so severe that 95% of people in a similar condition would be expected to die.”

According to the BBC, Perks, a recently retired plastic surgeon, was woken up when Brooks broke into his home and mistakenly believed he was his son, Henry, before Brooks attacked him and stabbed him in the stomach.

Brooks left multiple signs that linked him to being the suspect, such as “a blood deposit left behind as he forced entry,” added Nottinghamshire Police.

A crowbar was also recovered by authorities, which the surgeon used to break into the home. His blood was also found on the knife’s handle.

“CCTV footage was used to prove that Brooks left his home shortly before the attack and returned after carrying it out,” police said in their statement. “Further damning evidence was also found inside his garage, where officers found his blood, a container of petrol in his bicycle pannier, matches and a lighter.”

The BBC reported that Brooks was absent from the trial due to being on a hunger strike.

“You [Brooks] must have had substantial professional experience of treating those who have suffered appalling and painful burns, and yet you attempted to set a fire in the middle of the night intending to kill your former colleague and to endanger the lives of any other occupants as they lay sleeping in their beds,” judge Edward Pepperall said in court, per the BBC.

“You were a trained surgeon, and yet you plunged a knife into your colleague’s body, passing through his liver, his pancreas, his duodenum and his inferior vena cava with the same murderous intent,” Pepperall added.

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In a statement, read out to the court, the victim said he had “no ill feeling, hatred or bitterness” towards Brooks.

“It is just another interesting chapter in life and I wish his family well,” Perks added.

Police also said Brooks, “who caused a succession of delays to the legal process over several years,” was “found guilty of arson with intent to endanger life, and possession of a bladed article.”

“He will not be eligible for release for 17 years and 223 days — reflecting the time he has already spent in custody,” the release added.

“Brooks left home that night with the intention of taking another man’s life,” Nottinghamshire Police, Detective Inspector Matt Scott, said in a statement. “He prepared for what he was going to do and then set about achieving his goal with ruthless efficiency.”

“But for the skill and determination of the medical teams involved — and the victim’s own remarkable calmness — Brooks would have succeeded in that plan,” Scott added. “As the legal process now comes to an end, I feel a great deal of relief for the victim and his family who have had to wait such a long time for this moment.”

PEOPLE has contacted the Nottingham University Hospitals for comment.