BY TAM NGUYEN / NGUOI VIET 2
Catherine Kieu sits next to her attorney, deputy public defender, Frank Bittar, before opening statements Wednesday, April 17, 2013 in Santa Ana, Calif. (AP Photo/The Orange County Register)
SANTA ANA, Calif. ― A woman accused of drugging her husband, then cutting off his penis, did so out of jealousy and should be found guilty of aggravated mayhem and torture, Prosecutor John Christl said in opening arguments Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court.
Kieu’s public defender, Frank Bittar, disagreed with the prosecutor’s assessment, stating Kieu suffers from a mental illness and should not face such charges.
On the opening day of testimony, the jury heard an audio recording from a tape recorder that the husband found in his car nine months after the alleged attack at their Garden Grove home. The prosecutor characterized the tape as proof that Kieu had been spying on her husband, whom she believed was having an affair.
In July 2011, the couple was in the midst of a divorce.
Testimony will resume on Thursday.
At the time of the crime, Kieu and 60-year-old John Doe had a romantic relationship and lived together in Garden Grove.
On the night of July 11, 2011, Kieu is accused of engaging John Doe in an argument over the possibility of a friend staying with them at their home at a later date. The defendant is accused of then preparing dinner for the victim and lacing it with Ambien without the victim’s knowledge.
At approximately 9:00 p.m. John Doe became tired as a result of being drugged and went to bed. As he slept in his bed, Kieu is accused of tying the victim’s legs and arms to the four corners of the bed with nylon ropes. When John Doe awoke, the defendant is accused of pulling down his pants, grabbing the victim’s penis, and severing it with a knife. Kieu is accused of taking the penis to the kitchen, throwing it into the garbage disposal, turning it on, and mutilating the organ.
After attacking the victim, Kieu is accused of contacting 911 and reporting that John Doe was bleeding. John Doe then spoke to police dispatch and reported that his penis had been cut off by the defendant.
Garden Grove Police Department officers, who investigated this case, arrived at the scene and John Doe was transported to University of California, Irvine Medical Center. He was released from the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery.
