Ex-GP Brian Holder fails in bid to have 15-year attempted murder sentence reduced

An ex-GP who tried to kill a pharmacist because she reported him for overprescribing medication has lost a bid to have his sentence reduced.

A former GP who attempted to kill a pharmacist by ambushing her with a knife and flowers after she reported him to authorities for over prescribing medication has lost a bid to have his sentence reduced.

Brian Holder, 69, was found guilty of one count of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison last November, with a non-parole period of 10 years but appealed the sentence.

On Wednesday, the Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the appeal.

The Supreme Court previously heard Holder tried to kill the pharmacist at the Terry White Pharmacy in Port Lincoln after luring her from behind the counter with a bunch of flowers before slashing at her in “several striking motions”.

The October 2017 attack was sparked because the pharmacist reported Holder to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) because he was overprescribing benzodiazepines to Aboriginal women in Port Lincoln.

The pharmacist had allowed her name to be disclosed in a complaint, which appeared in a letter notifying Holder about the concerns.

Holder was a GP at the Reynella Medical Centre in Morphett Vale at the time of the incident.

Lawyers for Holder had argued the sentencing judge had erred in finding that Holder remained a dangerous man and not remorseful contrary to the opinions of a forensic psychiatrist. They had also argued the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive.

In dismissing the appeal, the appeals court found there was “no unfairness” in the sentencing judge’s view of the psychiatrist’s opinion and that the sentence was not manifestly excessive.

Holder will be eligible for parole in 2027.