Jurors delivered guilty verdicts Monday in the trial of a Southern California woman accused of drugging her estranged husband and cutting off his penis before throwing it in a garbage disposal.
Catherine Kieu was convicted of aggravated mayhem — maliciously depriving a human of a body part — and torture for the July 2011 attack, which occurred about two months after the husband filed for divorce.
Kieu, who continued living at the man's Garden Grove residence, placed drugs in his dinner, tied him to a bed and cut off his penis with a 10-inch kitchen knife, investigators said.
She then placed the penis in a garbage disposal and turned on the appliance, according to investigators. Kieu called 911 to report a medical emergency, and responding officers found the man still tied to the bed.
Doctors were unable to reattach the penis.
The attack was preceded by an argument over the victim's friends staying at the residence, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office. Prosecutors argued during the trial that Kieu, 50, was angry about the divorce plans.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 28. Kieu faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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