Woman Accused of Cutting Her Husband's Penis Held on $1 Million Bail
July 22, 2011— -- A California woman accused of cutting off her husband's penis and throwing it down the garbage disposal was ordered held today on $1 million bail.
An arraignment for Catherine Kieu Becker was set for Sept. 23.
Becker, 48, was charged last week with torture and aggravated mayhem. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with parole.
A law enforcement source told The Los Angeles Times that she may have poisoned her husband's tofu soup. Police are awaiting lab results to determine what kind of poison she may have used.
Lt. Jeff Nightengale of Garden Grove, Calif., told ABC News that Becker's 60-year-old husband lay down after he ate soup, believing something was wrong with it.
Her husband then woke up tied to the bed as Becker cut off his penis with a knife, Nightengale said. She threw the genitalia in the garbage disposal and turned the disposal on.
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The victim's ex-wife, Dr. Manal Soliman, was in disbelief when she heard the news of her ex-husband's castration. Soliman was married to him for eight years before the couple divorced in 2002. She has never met her ex-husband's wife.
"He's a really nice person and I know he truly cared for her a lot," said Soliman. "I heard they got to know each other at church. I don't know how a churchgoing woman could do something like that."
Her husband filed for divorce in May, citing "irreconcilable differences." Nightengale said Becker was "upset" about the divorce, but could not confirm why she wanted to cut off her husband's manhood. The couple has no children.
After cutting off his penis, Becker eventually called 911 to ask for medical assistance. When firefighters and police arrived on scene, Becker told officials that her husband "deserved it," said Nightengale.
Police found the man, who remains unidentified, tied to the bed and "bleeding profusely."
Her husband was rushed to University of California at Irvine Medical Center for treatment.
"Police were able to recover portions of the penis from the garbage disposal," Nightengale said, but it was unclear whether doctors would be able to reattach them.
"He is in amazingly good spirits considering what happened," said Nightengale on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
