Wendy Ruth Sym accused of trying to kill husband by injecting him with insulin in a Perth hospital
Wife suffering ‘carer’s fatigue’ allegedly tried to kill her dementia-victim husband after nursing him for nine years
- A 62-year-old Perth woman is accused of attempting to murder her husband
- Wendy Sym was the primary carer for her husband Ken, 69, for nine years
- She allegedly injected him with a high dose of insulin putting him into a coma
A wife and registered nurse is accused of trying to murder her dementia-victim husband after nine years of caring for him.
Wendy Ruth Sym, 62, allegedly injected her husband Ken, 69, with a high dose of insulin after he was admitted to the Joondalup Health Campus, in northern Perth, in January 2021.
Appearing in Stirling Magistrate’s Court via video from Melaleuca Women’s Prison on Wednesday, Ms Sym applied for bail with her defence lawyer telling the court she was suffering ‘carer’s fatigue’ last year.
The court heard nurses at the hospital found Mr Sym, who is also a type II diabetic, in a comatose state with abnormal blood glucose levels after they had checked them and found them normal just a few hours earlier.
Registered nurse Wendy Sym (pictured) is accused of trying to kill her husband by injecting him with insulin
A vial of insulin was found in a nearby toilet with Ms Sym’s DNA on it which she had allegedly administered in an attempt to kill him, reports WA Today.
He recovered but died two months later from a heart attack.
Ms Sym was first questioned by police late last year and was arrested last week in Busselton in the state’s south west.
State prosecutor Katrin Robinson said she was found by police with prescription pills, a will, and note she described as ‘akin to a suicide note’.
Part of the note read: ‘I can’t bear the thought of a court case where I have to convince strangers I am not a horrible person’.
After her first police interview last year, she had previously tried to take her own life by taking 80 blood pressure tablets.
In applying for bail, her defence lawyer Seamus Rafferty said she was at that point suffering ‘carer’s fatigue’ and was in a ‘state of despair’ but was no longer a danger to herself.
He added she often wrote her feelings down and had driven to Busselton to clear her head.
He said Ms Sym could offer a $200,000 surety and would comply with strict bail conditions.
Ms Sym was arrested in Busselton in WA’s south-west last week with what prosecutors say was a ‘suicide note’
Magistrate Janet Whitbread said she had concerns for Ms Sym’s safety should she be released and noted she did not have a psychologist’s report to refer to.
Mr Rafferty asked the court for a remand and permission to obtain the report.
The request was granted but the magistrate added a favourable report would not guarantee bail being granted.
Sym will appear again on November 25 for a continuation of her bail hearing.