By Prosper Mene
A former Queensland nurse, Karenjeet Kaur Warburton, has been banned from practicing for four years following a shocking plot to severely harm her ex-boyfriend, senior Queensland Police Inspector Don McKay. The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal handed down the decision in March 2025, with the ruling published last week.
Warburton, 52, who dated McKay from March 2020 to early 2021, paid a patient, Andrew Bown, $3,000 to carry out a gruesome attack on the police inspector. The tribunal heard that Warburton provided Bown with photos of McKay and his home between April and October 2021, instructing him to cut off McKay’s penis and tongue, burn his face with acid, sever his spine to cause paralysis, or break every bone in his body to prevent him from walking or talking. Tribunal member Julie Dick described Warburton’s actions as “cold and calculated,” noting that her efforts only ceased when she was arrested.
Warburton pleaded guilty in 2023 to one count of attempting to procure grievous bodily harm and one count of attempting to procure a malicious act with intent, both domestic violence offenses. She was sentenced to five years in prison, suspended after 16 months. Bown, her accomplice, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, suspended after six months, after attempting to harm McKay, including setting his home on fire with lighter fluid, causing $20,000 in damage.The tribunal found Warburton’s actions constituted professional misconduct, as she exploited her position as a nurse to enlist a patient for the plot. She did not contest the claims and was banned from working in healthcare for four years, including time already served behind bars.
Warburton, a Malaysian-born Indian who studied nursing in the UK before moving to Australia in 2007, claimed her actions were influenced by alcohol abuse following personal tragedies, including her sister’s murder and the deaths of her pets. However, the tribunal questioned the extent to which alcohol contributed to her persistent criminal behavior.The case has caused a debate over the leniency of the four-year ban, with some questioning whether Warburton should be allowed to return to healthcare.
