A former children’s nurse who was found guilty of trying to kill her husband broke down in court after discovering she will spend almost a decade behind bars.
Wendy Sym, 63, was sentenced to nine years in prison in Washington’s Supreme Court on Monday.
The grandmother had been charged with attempting to kill her 39-year-old husband, Kenneth Sym, in January 2021 by injecting him with a lethal dose of insulin, a drug commonly used to treat diabetes.
Mr Sym, who suffered from dementia and was also receiving treatment for type 2 diabetes, survived after receiving medical care.
The court heard his wife injected the lethal dose of the drug at Joondalup Hospital, where Mr Sym had been admitted after suffering injuries from a fall.
Her blood sugar levels dropped to a dangerous level and she was never prescribed insulin to treat her diabetes.
He died two months later from a stroke caused by unrelated causes.
Sym collapsed on the courtroom floor after Judge Amanda Forrester read the sentence, she said. WA today.
Wendy Sym, 63 (pictured), collapsed in court after being sentenced to nine years behind bars for trying to kill her husband.
Wendy Sym (pictured right) took on the responsibility of caring for her husband of 39 years, Kenneth (left), after he was diagnosed with dementia in 2014.
Family and friends who packed the courtroom gasped after the sentence was handed down.
Sym continues to deny attempting to murder her husband after a jury found her guilty during a trial in April.
The court heard that a hospital nurse found the insulin bottle had been thrown into a rubbish bin in a nearby bathroom.
Traces of Sym’s DNA were found on the vial, which was dated April 9, 2018.
Sym denied that her husband needed insulin and said he never went to the bathroom during a police interview on January 20, 2021.
She also insisted at the time that she did not find it difficult to care for her husband, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2014.
But her lawyer, Seamus Rafferty, told the court on Monday that constantly caring for her husband had taken a toll on his client and led to “carer burnout”.
“She was suffering from caregiver fatigue, a recognized psychological condition that affects her ability to make calm, rational decisions,” Rafferty said.
“This shows that there is a causal connection between his mental state at the time and his actions.”
Sym also previously denied asking hospital staff to leave her husband alone while she was away from his bed.
It was discovered that she had asked staff to reduce checks on her husband to a minimum.
Kenneth Sym (pictured) died of unrelated causes two months after his wife gave him a dose of insulin.
The grandmother (pictured) will spend at least seven years behind bars
Judge Forrester said she could not accept that Sym gave her husband the insulin dose in an attempt to provide him with medical assistance.
She accepted that Sym was in a state of emotional turmoil due to having to provide round-the-clock care to her husband.
“He was exhausted by his caring responsibilities and despairing at the prospect of them continuing unabated into the future,” Judge Forrester said.
‘In that state you decided to end his life.’
Sym will be eligible for parole after seven years.
