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2 months ago
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A former children's nurse who was found guilty of trying to kill her husband has collapsed in court after finding out that she will spend almost a decade behind bars.
Wendy Sym, 63, was sentenced to nine years in jail at WA Supreme Court on Monday.
The grandmother had been accused of trying to kill her husband of 39 years Kenneth Sym in January 2021 by injecting a lethal dose of insulin, a drug commonly used to treat diabetes.
Mr Sym, who was suffering from dementia and was also being treated for type-2 diabetes, survived after he received medical care.
The court heard that his wife injected the lethal dose of the drug at Joondalup Hospital where Mr Sym had been admitted after he suffered injuries from a fall.
His blood sugar levels dropped to a dangerous level and he was never prescribed insulin to treat his diabetes.
He died from a stroke two months later.
Sym collapsed onto the floor of the courtroom after Justice Amanda Forrester read out the sentence, reported WA Today.
Wendy Sym, 63 (pictured) collapsed in court after she was sentenced to nine years behind bars for trying to kill her husband
Sym (pictured right) took on the responsibility to care for her husband of 39 years Kenneth Sym (pictured left) after he was diagnosed with dementia in 2014
Family and friends, who attended packed the courtroom, gasped after the sentence was delivered.
Sym continues to deny she tried to murder her husband after a jury found her guilty during a trial in April.
The court heard that a nurse at the hospital found the vial of insulin had been dumped inside 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 required insulin and said she never went to the bathroom during a police interview on January 20, 2021.
She also insisted at the time that she wasn't finding 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 took a toll on his client, that led to 'carer's burnout'.
'She was suffering from carer's fatigue, a recognised psychological condition, that impacts your ability to make calm and rational decisions,' Mr Rafferty said.
'It shows there is a causal connection between her mental state at the time and her actions'.
Sym also previously denied she asked staff at the hospital to leave her husband alone while she was away from his bedside.
She was found to have requested staff keep check-ups of her husband to a minimum.
Mr Sym (pictured) died from a stroke two months after he was given a lethal dose of insulin by his wife
Justice Forrester said she could not accept that Sym gave her husband the dose of insulin in an attempt to provide him with medical assistance.
She accepted that Sym was in an state of emotional turmoil due to providing around-the-clock care to her husband.
'You were exhausted by your care responsibilities and despairing at the prospect of them continuing in the future unabated,' Justice Forrester said.
'In that state you decided to end his life.'
Sym will be eligible for parole after seven years.
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