A California woman who was convicted of aggravated mayhem and torture after severing her husband's penis and throwing it into a garbage disposal has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to the New York Daily News.
Catherine Kieu, 50, laced her husband's food with sleeping pills in order to be able to tie him to his bed and cut off his penis with a 10 inch kitchen knife. Although the couple had filed for divorce they were still sharing the same condominium. Kieu's husband, who was allowed to remain anonymous by the courts due to the sexual nature of the crime, had apparently taken up with a former girlfriend thus enraging Kieu, according to the New York Daily News.
Doctors were able to perform surgery allowing the man to urinate but were unable to reattach the penis. During the trial the victim described the effect the crime has had on him.
"She murdered me that night," the victim said according to the Associated Press. "I will never have a sex life again. My mental state is improving, but it may never be what it was before."
John Christl, an attorney with the Orange County District Attorney's office, spoke with NBC News and said that the crime is one that the victim will never fully recover from and Kieu should have been sentenced accordingly.
"This was a horrible event," Christl said. "In effect, the victim is going to be serving a life sentence because of what the defendant did to him. She, in turn, deserves her life sentence."
The defense argued that Kieu suffered from mental problems as a result of growing up in war torn Vietnam. Kieu also claimed that the victim had abused her, both physically and sexually, during their marriage. Judge Richard Toohey was not swayed by these arguments as he denied the defense request for probation and gave Kieu life in prison with the possibility of parole in seven years, according to NBC News.
"In my 24 years on the bench, I've seen a number of murder cases," Judge Toohey said. "Her actions were as calculated, as cold, as callous as any murder in the first degree."
Prior to the sentence being announced the victim read an impact statement describing the ordeal that he has gone through because of the crime.
"The convicted viciously deprived me of part of my life and identity," the victim said. "This was a cruel and calculated violation of a person's body and mind. I now struggle with what is before me. She has torn off my identity as a man. She has caused doubt in my belief in good. She has betrayed my trust in people."
