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The attorney for the woman accused of drugging her husband, slicing his penis off and tossing it into a garbage disposal said his client had been manipulated by the victim.Catherine Kieu, 50, was a "doormat" for her husband, her public defender Frank Bittar said during closing arguments today, according to the Los Angeles Times. Her attorneys contended that Kieu suffered from serious mental issues since she had been molested in childhood and traumatized during her childhood in a war-torn Vietnam, according to the Associated Press. In her marriage to the victim, they said he often demanded sex in a way that was painful to her.
Her attorney said she "had a break with reality" after suffering at the hands of her husband for so long, according to the OC Register (no link).
Prosecutors admitted that Kieu had had a difficult early life, but they said that she snapped when her husband asked for a divorce and started seeing an old flame. She may have had a terrible childhood but Deputy Dist. Atty. John Christi said "it doesn't change the fact she sliced off the penis due to her vengeance, vanity and jealousy."
Related:
Tainted Love: Woman Who Severed Husband's Penis May Have Poisoned His Tofu Soup
Alleged Penis Chopping Wife Pleads Not Guilty to Using Kitchen Knife on Hubby's Junk, Tossing it in Garbage Disposal
Penis-Chopping Wife Indicted Today Of Torture & Aggravated Mayhem
