LONDON (AP) 鈥� A British doctor on Monday admitted trying to kill his mother鈥檚 long-term partner, who stood between him and an inheritance, by injecting the man with poison disguised as a COVID-19 vaccine.
Prosecutors say Thomas Kwan pretended to be a community nurse delivering booster shots and injected Patrick O鈥橦ara with a toxic substance, likely a pesticide. O鈥橦ara, 72, developed a rare flesh-eating disease that left him in intensive care.
Kwan, 53, initially denied attempted murder but changed his plea to guilty after prosecutors laid out their case at Newcastle Crown Court in northeast England.
Prosecutor Thomas Makepeace told the court that Kwan was a 鈥渞espected and experienced鈥� family doctor based in Sunderland, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from Newcastle. The lawyer said Kwan used his 鈥渆ncyclopedic knowledge鈥� of poisons in his plot to kill O鈥橦ara, who was 鈥渁 potential impediment to Mr. Kwan inheriting his mother鈥檚 estate upon her death.鈥�
Makepeace said Kwan forged documentation, used a vehicle with fake license plates and disguised himself with head-to-toe protective clothing, tinted glasses and a surgical mask to visit the home in Newcastle that O鈥橦ara shared with Kwan鈥檚 mother, Jenny Leung, in January.
鈥淎s I suspect, would any of us, Mr. O鈥橦ara fell for it hook, line and sinker,鈥� the prosecutor said.
The next day, in pain and with a blistered arm, O鈥橦ara went to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis. Part of his arm was cut away to stop it spreading, and O鈥橦ara spent several weeks in intensive care.
Kwan was identified with the help of surveillance camera footage. Police who searched his home found an array of chemicals, including arsenic and liquid mercury, as well as castor beans which can be used to make the chemical weapon ricin.
Police have not been able to confirm what substance was used.
Christopher Atkinson of the Crown Prosecution Service said Kwan had refused to identify the poison, 鈥渁llowing the victim鈥檚 health to further deteriorate.鈥�
鈥淲hile the attempt on his victim鈥檚 life was thankfully unsuccessful, the effects were still catastrophic," he said.
Kwan will be sentenced later.
The Associated Press
