A plastic surgeon has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years after stabbing his former boss and trying to set his house on fire.
Peter Brooks, 61, was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder, attempted arson, and possession of a bladed article in April.
He cycled to the home of Graeme Perks in Halam, near Southwell, Nottinghamshire, while wearing camouflage gear and armed with a crowbar, petrol, matches and a knife in the early hours of 14 January 2021.
The 61-year-old then doused the ground floor of the property with petrol before stabbing fellow plastic surgeon Mr Perks because he wanted him “out of the way”, his trial in Loughborough heard.
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% chance of death.
His wife and children were sleeping at the time of the attack, which took place during a COVID lockdown, the jury was told.
Jailing him at Leicester Crown Court, sitting in Loughborough, on Monday, Judge Mr Justice Pepperall said Brooks had committed “appalling” crimes after setting off from his home on a “murderous expedition”.
Brooks was “voluntarily absent” from his month-long trial because he was on a hunger strike and said he would “rather be dead than incarcerated”.
Mr Justice Pepperall previously told the court that on “no fewer than eight occasions” since 2021 Brooks, formerly of Landseer Road, Southwell, had “used hunger strikes or the threat of some other self-harm to achieve some advantage”.
Brooks did not appear in person for his sentencing hearing today because he refused to leave his cell.
Stephen Leslie KC, defending, said Brooks had said he was too unwell to make the journey to court and instead listened to proceedings via video link from HMP Norwich.
Because he has already served more than four years in custody so far, he will serve 17 years in prison to complete his minimum term.
One of his attempted murder convictions was for the intended use of fire, while the other was for the stabbing.
A sentence of six years for arson and 18 months for possessing a knife are to run concurrently.
Brooks’ convictions followed a four-year series of legal hearings, including a mistrial and seven other aborted trial dates.
Mr Perks, a consultant plastic surgeon, had prior to the stabbing provided evidence in disciplinary proceedings against Brooks, who faced potentially losing his job with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, the jury heard.
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On the night of the attack, Mr Perks 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 was found asleep on a garden bench later that morning when he was taken to hospital for injuries to his hand, and was arrested.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecution lawyer Tracy Ayling KC, Mr Perks said the incident had been an “unimaginable catastrophe” for him and his family.
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 (wife) Bev or (son) 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.”
Ms Ayling said Brooks was “manipulative” and had shown no remorse for what he had done.
She said: “He believes himself to be not guilty of the offences. He believes he has been unlawfully tried.
“He has a history of being manipulative.”
Mitigating, Mr Leslie 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.
