A man serving a life sentence for throwing a six-year-old boy from the tenth-floor balcony of the Tate Modern has been found guilty of assaulting two nurses at the high-security psychiatric hospital where he is detained.
Violent Attack on Hospital Staff
Jonty Bravery, 24, kicked one nurse in the thigh and clawed at the face of another during a disturbance at Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire in September 2024. The attack left nurse Linda McKinlay with blood dripping down her cheek, while her colleague Kate Mastalerz sustained a bruised thigh.
The incident occurred when Bravery, who requires constant monitoring by three staff members, attempted to climb onto a windowsill, reportedly to harm himself. When nurses intervened to restrain him and coax him down, he became violent.
Court Hears Details of the Struggle
Westminster Magistrates' Court heard in November how the nurses struggled with Bravery on the floor before other staff rushed to help. Body-worn footage played in court captured the chaotic scene, with a panicked staff member heard shouting, "Jesus Christ do something."
Ms McKinlay, a grandmother, told the court it was the first time she had been attacked in her long career at Broadmoor. "In the aftermath I was very shaken. In all my years of being in Broadmoor I’ve never been attacked," she said. She required hospital treatment for her facial injuries.
Fellow nurse Ms Mastalerz described it as a "very stressful situation" where she began shouting for help as Bravery kicked and scratched.
History of Violence and Previous Conviction
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring found Bravery guilty of both assault charges, stating he had "gone too far." Bravery is due to be sentenced for these assaults.
This is not his first offence against hospital staff. In 2020, he received an additional 14-week jail term after admitting to attacking Broadmoor workers, including punching a nursing assistant and biting a rehabilitation therapist.
Bravery is currently at Broadmoor under a life sentence imposed after he hurled a young French boy from the viewing platform of the Tate Modern in 2019. The child suffered life-changing injuries, including a brain bleed and multiple broken bones.
