Former nurse Wendy Sym collapses in court as she is jailed over attempted murder of husband with insulin

Francesca De Nuccio
7NEWS
Wendy Sym tried to murder her sick husband by injecting him with a lethal dose of insulin.

A former WA nurse has collapsed in court after learning she will spend nine years behind bars for attempting to kill her ill husband.

Wendy Sym, 63, was sentenced on Monday, having previously been found guilty of trying to murder her husband of 39 years with a lethal dose of insulin in January 2021.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nurse jailed over attempted murder of husband in Perth.

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At the time, Ken was living with type-two diabetes and severe dementia, and Sym, her lawyer told the court, was suffering from “carer’s fatigue” and had “hit the end of her tether” after being her husband’s sole carer for 10 years.

Wendy was found to have injected the lethal drug in Joondalup Health Campus, where Ken had been admitted following a fall.

A vial of insulin — dated April 9, 2018 — was found dumped in a bin of a nearby bathroom.

That type of insulin was never used at Joondalup Health Campus but was stocked at Princess Margaret Hospital, where Wendy had worked in 2018.

Wendy’s DNA was found on the vial, the prosecution said.

Wendy continues to deny any involvement.

Wendy Sym has been sentenced over the attempted murder of her husband.
Wendy Sym has been sentenced over the attempted murder of her husband. Credit: 7NEWS

Ken survived the incident after doctors intervened but died from a stroke two months later.

A packed gallery of friends and family gasped and cried as the sentence of nine years in jail was handed down on Monday.

The grandmother collapsed when her fate was delivered.

She will have to serve seven years before being eligible for parole.

Originally published on 7NEWS

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