MORNING MIX

Nurse accused of amputating man’s foot for her family’s taxidermy shop

Mary K. Brown wanted a sign next to the foot — ‘wear your boots kids’ — other nurses told investigators

By Jonathan Edwards
November 8, 2022 at 4:42 a.m. EST

Mary K. Brown had plans for a dying man’s foot, according to a recently filed affidavit.

As the registered nurse amputated her patient’s right foot on the afternoon of May 27, she told colleagues that her family owned a taxidermy shop, the affidavit alleges. Her co-workers recalled her saying that she planned to take the 62-year-old patient’s foot from the nursing home in Spring Valley, Wis., and display it at the shop. ... According to them, she said she wanted to put a sign next to it: “wear your boots kids.”

Brown, 38, was charged Thursday with two felonies: mayhem and intentionally causing great bodily harm to an elderly person. The Pierce County district attorney has enhanced the possible punishment for each charge by up to six years because she’s accused of victimizing someone 60 or older.

Brown, who declined to talk about the accusations against her when reached by The Washington Post on Monday afternoon, faces up to 92 years in prison if convicted. Court records do not list an attorney for Brown.

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By Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. Before joining The Post, he covered public safety for The Virginian-Pilot and Lincoln Journal Star. Twitter https://twitter.com/jonathanreports