Southern California Woman Found Guilty for Severing Husband's Penis in their Garden Grove Home

During the trial, the man testified that his penis could not be reattached and that he felt as though he had "been murdered".

Catherine Kieu

(GARDEN GROVE) - In the neighborhood that I grew up in as a child, Santa Ana, California, jurors today finally reached a decision to convict Catherine Kieu (Becker) on charges of torture and aggravated mayhem against her husband.

Kieu, 50, was found guilty of drugging her 60 year old estranged husband's tofu & chicken soup with "Zolpidem," which are sleeping pills, and then proceeding to sever his penis with a 10 inch kitchen knife after he woke up, which she tossed in the garbage disposal, and then turned on. It happened on July 11, 2011.

She pleaded "Not Guilty" and was held on $1 Million dollars bail. Audio recordings would prove to be her downfall.

During the trial, the man testified that his penis could not be reattached and that he felt as though he had "been murdered".

According to Public Defender Frank Bittar, Kieu, who grew up in war-torn Vietnam, had mental health problems which he claims were caused by a childhood of molestation and "other trauma," and attempted to justify her attack by emphasizing that because her husband "constantly demanded sex in ways that caused her pain," her mental illness was triggered into action. Kieu alleges to have been molested repetitively by her elder brother when she was 6 years old, but that no legal consequence was given him.

However, prosecutors argued against that reasoning and insist that the attack was more triggered in Kieu because she was "jealous & angry about her husband's plans to divorce her because he was seeing his ex-girlfriend," and that she had found out and was Not happy about it. Kieu's husband had filed for divorce in May after 16 months of marriage.

Deputy District Attorney John Christl stressed to the courtroom that "By refusing to accept it, she committed a vicious act", and from there explained to jurors in detail what would transpire next, and, that during the attack on her husband, Kieu screamed, "You deserve it!" Then he told jurors that a hidden "voice activated recorder" in the bedroom where it happened had actually caught "some of it," which shocked everyone.

The irony is, that Kieu was the one who placed the recorder in the room that would seal her fate with the courts, hoping to catch her husband "cheating".

Her attorney, Frank Bittar, persisted in the justification being that her husband was "hyper-sexual," and began explaining that he had been "using erectile dysfunction drugs" and forcing her into "painful sexual positions" - in fact, their opening statement in the trial was "You're going to learn that in Catherine's mind, she severed his penis because she wanted him to stop hurting her with his penis".

"She is heard yelling 'you deserve it' three times before the attack and the ominous sound of the garbage disposal being turned on is also heard on the recording," he said. Also the recordings reveal him noting that the soup "tasted salty"

Her husband testified that after eating the tofu and chicken dish that, as he recalled "had a metallic salty taste", that he began feeling "groggy", so he decided to go lay down in their family bed, where he seemed to pass out. He believes this was shortly after 8 p.m.

He went on to say that at point she apparently tied him up to their bed, and that she waited until he woke up before severing his penis "with one slice". He says she pulled on his shorts, "I didn't really understand what she was doing," he testified.

"I looked down and I saw something metallic, silver, shiny. I still didn't know what was going on. I felt her grab hold of my penis. I was very surprised," he said, with tears in his eyes, recalling the horror of that shocking day.

He then said that he suddenly, "Felt a very sharp pain and she had cut my penis off and then threw it on the carpet next to the bed."

Kieu then allegedly picked up the severed penis and left the room. 'The next thing I heard was the garbage disposal," he testified while trying to fight back tears, "I don't know how long that went on -- a long time," he said.

Her husband, only referred to as 'Glen' - broke down in tears as he explained how Kieu then put a towel over his groin area. which he describes as "was bleeding profusely", and then dialed a 911 and put the receiver to his head so he could speak to a dispatcher.

"She didn't want me dead," he said as he explained to the courtroom how he'd underwent reconstructive surgery.

"Of course, I will never have a sex life again," he told the jurors from the stand. "The healing process may never be completely finished. My mental state is improving, but it may never be what it was before."

Kieu's sentencing has been scheduled for June 28 where she Does face up to "life in prison without the possibility of parole".