Trial begins Tuesday for Wisconsin woman who amputated patient’s foot, without permission, to allegedly put in taxidermy shop

A small-town courthouse in western Wisconsin will be in the media spotlight this week, as a nurse appears in court for amputating a patient’s foot — though there’s quite a bit more to the story than that.

Mary Brown of Durand is scheduled for a hearing before a Pierce County judge Tuesday, on a charge of elder abuse for cutting off the foot of a frostbite patient without his permission.

The man died days after the amputation.

Beyond that, however, Brown reportedly told others that she wanted to display the foot at her family’s taxidermy shop.

The state nursing board has been looking into the incident, and media companies from Milwaukee and St. Paul are expected to attend the court hearing.