Stabbed surgeon Graeme Perks had just 5% survival rate due to severity of wound, court hears in attempted murder trial of Southwell plastic surgeon Dr Peter Brooks

The injury sustained by a retired surgeon when he was stabbed at his home was so serious he had a 95% chance of fatality, his doctor has told court.

Graeme Perks suffered an injury 8cm deep, which caused damage to multiple organs, in the early hours of January 14, 2021, at his Halam Hill home.

His former plastic surgeon colleague Dr Peter Brooks, formerly of Landseer Road, Southwell, is accused of two counts of attempted murder — by stabbing and arson — relating to the incident, as well as charges of arson with intent to endanger life and possession of a bladed article.

He is not present at his trial and has chosen not to have legal representation.

Evidence was today (March 25) given in court in Loughborough by the major trauma surgeon who operated on Mr Perks, Mr Adam Brooks, who is of no relation to the defendant.

Mr Brooks, who has extensive trauma surgery experience in the UK, South Africa, the US, Australia, and in Afghanistan, explained that Mr Perks’ wound was “significant”, he was “critically unstable” and caused him to lose more blood than is normally in the human body, and he subsequently needed multiple transfusions.

“[Mr Perks had] a single wound as far as we could make out,” Mr Brooks added.

“It was way up in the most serious type of injury we deal with, that I’ve dealt with in my career. Mr Perks had a very high chance of dying.”

This was given as a 95% chance, which could have been closer to 100% if he was not treated by the experienced team at the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre.

Mr Perks himself also appeared in court to be cross examined by Dr Brooks’ court appointed advocate Mr Stephen Leslie KC.

Mr Leslie highlighted “contradictions” between information given by Mr Perks during his police interview held after his initial recovery — including saying the intruder ran off, and that he saw shattered glass — which he had no recollection of by the time his interview occurred the following month.

Considering a transcript of Mr Perks’ statements while he was in the ambulance, he added: “You were so discombobulated at this stage you actually believed it was your son who did this wicked thing.”

Mr Perks acknowledged the inconsistencies, and his confusion at the time, and added: “[That was] me talking in a period for which I have no recollection… it reads to me as though I’m totally discombobulated about what is going on.”

He explained he had a blank period between the time he was stabbed and when paramedics arrived at his home, including no recollection of the 999 call his son Henry made and the questions he answered during this call, and then again until he woke after his surgeries — a period during which he was heavily medicated and experienced hallucinations.

“What I gave in the [police interview] video was my recollection of events. Those were the beliefs which I held when I came round in intensive care,” he told the court.

He said he had never before seen the blue crowbar or knife found bloodied inside the house, and remembered having both bare hands clasped over his wound after he was stabbed.

He maintained that the stabbing occurred on the grass in the garden.

Further DNA evidence was also given by forensic scientist Pamela Bauer, including DNA profiles found on the “extremely bloodstained” knife.

The blood on the blade, which was a DNA match to Mr Perks, was consistent with a stab wound, with smearing and fatty deposits.

The handle, also heavily bloodstained, had DNA matches to both Mr Perks and Dr Brooks.

The presence of Mr Perks’ DNA was described as “not unexpected” due to the volume of blood on the weapon, while Mr Brooks DNA, the scientist added, was “entirely as [she] might expect if Peter Brooks had handled the knife at some time”.

Both Mr Perks’ and Dr Brooks’ DNA was also found on the crowbar, with Mr Perks’ in a bloodstain and both on a non-bloodied edge of the tool. It was suggested Mr Perks’ DNA could have been on the non-bloodied part due to minor transfer of his blood “rather than him handling it himself”, and Dr Brooks blood DNA was also found in bloodstains on the edge of broken glass doors at the Perks’ home.

Ms Bauer acknowledged that while Dr Brooks’ blood was found on nitrile gloves, a grip seal bag and on a matchbox found in his bicycle panniers at his Southwell home, there was no trace of Mr Perks’ DNA at that address.

The jacket worn by Dr Brooks had also become too wet and dirty for enough DNA to be extracted from bloodstains on it to identify who it belonged to, but tests did show that the DNA belonged to more than one person.

The trial continues.