Nurse Accused Of Cutting Off Dying Man’s Foot Without Consent For Taxidermy Display

Mary K. Brown, 38, from Durand, is charged with two felonies for allegedly cutting off a dying patient’s right foot. The victim never asked to have his foot cut off, and Brown did not have a doctor’s order or permission to do so.

A medical examiner flagged an autopsy to authorities because a foot had been removed from a body he was supposed to examine. Investigators were contacted by the county medical examiner in June regarding a death at an assisted living facility.

They found out that the victim’s right foot had been amputated on May 27, 2022, in what they said was an act of compassion. Tracy Reitz, the director of nursing for the center, said that the victim’s right foot was dead, foul smelling, and held on by a tendon.

It was later determined that a 38-year-old nurse Mary Brown had amputated the man’s foot without consent. In an even more disturbing twist, she wanted to display it with a sign that read, “wear your boots kids” inside her family’s taxidermy shop.

Kevin Larson, administrator and CEO of Spring Valley Senior Living and Health Care, said the person identified as Mary Brown is not employed with them and is due in court December 6 for an initial appearance.

The complaint ended with an interview of Brown, who stated that she did not have a doctor’s order to conduct an amputation. The nursing home administrator believed a doctor would have ordered the procedure.

According to a police affidavit, Brown admitted to amputating the foot of a 62-year-old male patient in March. The patient’s feet were described as “black like a mummy.”

Brown was charged with physical abuse of an elder person on Nov. 3. She could not be reached for comment about her alleged crimes.