Thomas Kwan reportedly wanted to kill his mother's partner of 20 years, Patrick O'Hara, over an inheritance dispute — so he injected him with a toxin that caused him to develop necrotizing fasciitis.
Northumbria PoliceThomas Kwan wearing a false goatee and wig to disguise himself.
British doctor Thomas Kwan, 53, who donned a wig, fake facial hair, and a medical mask to secretly poison his mother’s former partner, has pleaded guilty to attempted murder, according to police in Northumbria.
Kwan reportedly sent his mother’s then-partner, Patrick O’Hara, forged letters claiming that he was overdue for a check-up. Kwan then visited the man at his home, wearing a disguise so his mother and O’Hara wouldn’t recognize him, to administer a poison made to look like a COVID-19 vaccine to O’Hara. O’Hara survived the ordeal, but he developed necrotizing fasciitis, a potentially fatal flesh-eating bacterial infection.
Now, Kwan is set to be sentenced for his disturbing crimes.
How Thomas Kwan Poisoned Patrick O’Hara
Northumbria PoliceThomas Kwan without his disguise.
Thomas Kwan was a family doctor in Sunderland, England, but he passed himself off as a nurse when he put this devious plan into action. Disguising himself with a wig, fake facial hair, and a medical mask, he offered O’Hara a COVID-19 booster shot while pretending to carry out a home check-up on him. Kwan then proceeded to inject O’Hara with a toxin, according to a news release from the Northumbria Police.
Almost immediately, O’Hara became “seriously unwell,” and he was soon admitted to the hospital, where he presented the staff with the letters he had received from the disguised Kwan. Realizing the correspondence was bogus, hospital officials contacted the police.
O’Hara needed “numerous operations, including skin grafts to repair the extensive damage the poisoning caused to his body.”
During the ensuing investigation, the police identified Kwan as a suspect. They determined that the doctor had driven from his home in Ingleby Barwick to a hotel in Newcastle on Jan. 22, 2024, the morning of the incident. They also found that he put fake plates on his vehicle in an attempt to hide his identity.
He was arrested at his home, where police also found a “poisoner’s handbook” and a guide on murder investigations on his computer. They also uncovered several files about lethal poisons and avoiding detection.
Thomas Kwan Pleads Guilty To Attempted Murder
Northumbria PoliceThomas Kwan was captured on surveillance video leaving a hotel before going to his mother and O’Hara’s house.
Thomas Kwan previously admitted to a charge of administering a noxious substance, and now he has pleaded guilty to attempted murder, too.
“Thomas Kwan’s actions were utterly despicable,” said Detective Chief Inspector Jason Henry. “He used his experience as a doctor to deceive the victim into thinking the medical appointment he had arranged was genuine before administering the poison which has caused him unimaginable pain and suffering.”
In court, prosecutors identified a possible motive for Kwan. He was reportedly concerned about his mother’s will, in which she left her house to O’Hara rather than Kwan.
“Mr. Kwan used his encyclopedic knowledge of, and research into, poisons to carry out his plan,” said prosecutor Peter Makepeace in court, as Reuters reports.
The exact toxin Kwan used is still yet to be identified, and though he admitted guilt in the crime, he made no efforts to come clean about the specific poison he injected.
“While the attempt on his victim’s life was thankfully unsuccessful, the effects were still catastrophic,” said Christopher Atkinson, head of the Complex Casework Unit for CPS North East. “At a time when Kwan could have assisted medical staff by identifying this substance, he instead made no comment to the questions put to him in police interview, allowing the victim’s health to further deteriorate.”
Makepeace summed up the case best, saying simply, “Sometimes… the truth really is stranger than fiction.”
After reading about how Thomas Kwan attempted to kill his mother’s partner with a fake COVID vaccine, read about the Poison Squad, the men who poisoned themselves in the name of science. Or, learn all about the Poison Garden at Alnwick.
