Woman on trial in severed penis case
Source: Agencies |
April 19, 2013, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE estranged husband of a woman charged with severing his penis said it was as though his life ended the evening of the attack.
"She murdered me that night," the man said on the first day of the trial of Catherine Kieu, 50.
Deputy District Attorney John Christl said on Wednesday in his opening statement that Kieu, angry because her husband was dating a former girlfriend, laced his food with sleeping pills on July 11, 2011, then tied him to a bed, severed his penis and put it in the garbage disposal.
"I will never have a sex life again," said the husband, who had surgery that allows him to urinate. The penis could not be reattached.
The husband said he remembered waking tied to the bed. "All of a sudden I felt a very sharp pain," he said.
Deputy Public Defender Frank Bittar said that Kieu's traumatic childhood in war-torn Vietnam caused mental illness that should prevent her from conviction on the charges of aggravated mayhem and torture.
Bittar said Kieu met the victim at a gym, and after they married he subjected her to sexual and verbal abuse, and filed for divorce while they continued to live together in his Garden Grove home.
Prosecutors played audio in court that was captured by a voice-activated recorder Kieu had hidden in the bedroom.
She is heard yelling "you deserve it" three times before the attack on the recording.
"She murdered me that night," the man said on the first day of the trial of Catherine Kieu, 50.
Deputy District Attorney John Christl said on Wednesday in his opening statement that Kieu, angry because her husband was dating a former girlfriend, laced his food with sleeping pills on July 11, 2011, then tied him to a bed, severed his penis and put it in the garbage disposal.
"I will never have a sex life again," said the husband, who had surgery that allows him to urinate. The penis could not be reattached.
The husband said he remembered waking tied to the bed. "All of a sudden I felt a very sharp pain," he said.
Deputy Public Defender Frank Bittar said that Kieu's traumatic childhood in war-torn Vietnam caused mental illness that should prevent her from conviction on the charges of aggravated mayhem and torture.
Bittar said Kieu met the victim at a gym, and after they married he subjected her to sexual and verbal abuse, and filed for divorce while they continued to live together in his Garden Grove home.
Prosecutors played audio in court that was captured by a voice-activated recorder Kieu had hidden in the bedroom.
She is heard yelling "you deserve it" three times before the attack on the recording.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
