US woman jailed for life for bobbitising ex-hubby

A 50-year-old woman from the US state of California has been sentenced to life in prison for cutting off the penis of her then-husband and throwing it into a garbage disposal, officials said.

Vietnam-born Catherine Kieu from Garden Grove, California, and her 60-year-old husband were going through a divorce at the time of the incident in July 2011, CNN reported.

Kieu laced her husband's dinner with a sleep medication after they had an argument over a friend possibly staying with them.

When her husband went to sleep, Kieu tied his legs and arms to the four corners of the bed, and when he woke up, she pulled down his pants and severed his penis with a knife, prosecutors charged.

She then threw the severed penis into the garbage disposal, and mutilated it, prosecutors alleged.

Kieu then called the emergency number 911 about how her husband was bleeding, and he was taken to a hospital for emergency surgery, authorities said.

The victim's name has not been made public, police told CNN.

In April, a jury convicted Kieu of torture, aggravated mayhem, and for the personal use of a knife, prosecutors said.

Kieu and her ex-husband had no children.

During the trial, Kieu's attorney said she suffered from mental health issues, including depression, and that she should not be found guilty.

In the first such case of its kind in 1993, John Wayne Bobbitt was attacked by his then-wife Lorena, who cut off his penis with an eight-inch carving knife while he slept. Lorena then drove away, tossing the penis out of her car window. The penis was eventually found and surgically reattached.

Lorena Bobbitt was later found innocent by reason of insanity. During her testimony, she tearfully described her life at the hands of what she described as her abusive husband.