Catherine Kieu Becker, Charged With Cutting Off Husband's Penis, Could Face Life

The California woman accused of cutting off her husband's penis now faces formal charges that could land her in jail for life.


The Orange County District Attorney's office on Wednesday charged Catherine Kieu Becker, 48, with two felony counts -- torture and aggravated mayhem -- with sentence enhancement for causing great bodily injury, said Susan Schroeder, the DA's chief of staff.

Becker received a court-appointed attorney, police said. Her arraignment was postponed until July 22, and she will also have a bail hearing at her next court appearance.

She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with parole, and is currently being held in the Orange County Jail without bail.

After Becker, a real estate broker, laced her 60-year-old husband's dinner with an unknown drug, he lay down believing something was wrong with the food, said Lt. Jeff Nightengale of Garden Grove, Calif., police.

Her husband then woke up tied to the bed as Becker cut off his penis with a knife, Nightengale told ABC News on Tuesday. She threw the genitalia in the garbage disposal and turned the disposal on.

Source...