This Week in History: Lorena Bobbitt Cuts Her Husband's Appendage Off

After suffering through years of emotional and physical abuse, Lorena Bobbitt cut off the penis of her sleeping husband, John Wayne Bobbitt in their Manassas, Virginia home. The media firestorm which would follow would make Lorena Bobbitt a pop culture icon, often ignoring the truth of the reality she was living.

Lorena was born Lorena Gallo on October 31, 1970 in Bucay, Ecuador. She and her family moved to Carcas, Venezuela when she was a child.

For her quinceañera, Lorena was gifted a trip to the United States. After the trip, Lorena wanted to immigrate to the United States with her family. Although they weren’t able to obtain visas, in 1987, she applied and obtained a student visa to attend a community college in Virginia.

Lorena met her future husband, John Wayne Bobbitt in 1988. At the time, John was an enlisted U.S. Marine. The pair began dating and were married on June 28, 1989 when Lorena was 20 and John was 22.

The first time John was violent with Lorena occurred a few weeks after their wedding. After leaving a bar, John was driving dangerously and Lorena voiced her concern.

According to Biography, John would often allow random people to spend the night in their apartment with no advance notice. When Lorena would question this, John would often strike or rape Lorena. During their marriage, Lorena became pregnant. In an interview with ABC, she said that John forced her into an abortion.

Lorena worked as a nanny and eventually found a job in a nail salon. Once John left the military, the Bobbitt’s had to rely on her salary. Unable to keep up with their mortgage payments on their home, Lorena began stealing money from her employer. She was eventually caught in 1991 after she’d stolen $7,200.

Police were dispatched to the Bobbitt’s home multiple times and John pled guilty to assault and battery in February 1991. The Bobbitt’s separated in October 1991, but reunited in April 1993 when they moved into a new apartment in Manassas.

According to Lorena, on the evening of June 23, 1993, John came home drunk and raped her in their apartment. After he fell asleep, she spotted a knife in the kitchen and returned to their bedroom, where she cut John’s penis off. She proceeded to leave their apartment, with his appendage and the knife in tow.

Lorena drove for a while, still holding his appendage before she threw it out of her car and into a field across from a 7-11 gas station. She eventually went to the home of a friend and called 911, telling them what happened and where to find his appendage.

According to the Washington Post, John was rushed to the hospital by a friend who was staying at their apartment. Once his appendage was found and cleaned with antiseptic, the surgery to reattach it took nine-and a half hours.

In November 1993, John went on trial for marital sexual assault. Due to Virginia law, he could not be prosecuted for rape. He was later found not guilty.

The media circus surrounding Lorena’s trial was swift. She became a tabloid sensation and a source of material for many comedians including Howard Stern-who gifted John Bobbitt a penis enlargement surgery. One radio station served hot dogs and slice soda outside the courthouse.

Lorena’s trial began in January 1994. She was charged with malicious wounding which meant she could have been imprisoned for 20 years and deported to Venezuela. Her defense team argued that after years of abuse, she was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was driven to temporary insanity.

While under oath, John denied any form of abuse against Lorena. When he was cross-examined, his testimony conflicted with known facts of the case. Witnesses came forward to describe bruises they saw on Lorena. Eventually, the jury found Lorena not guilty due to “temporary insanity.” The judge sentenced Lorena to 45 days in a psychiatric facility.

The Bobbitt’s eventually divorced in 1995. John Bobbitt eventually starred in two pornographic movies and wracked up an extensive criminal record. He was arrested seven times on charges ranging from assault to grand larceny. In interviews since the conclusion of the trial, he claims she was abusive, and denies any form of abuse at his hands.

After the trial, Lorena was treated as a feminist icon. She founded the Lorena Gallo Foundation to help women experiencing domestic violence. In an interview with TIME, she described her work as going to college campuses to speak, volunteering in shelters, and wants the laws regarding domestic violence to be tightened.

She recalls the media fervor surrounding the case as “sad,” because they focused more on his appendage than “the whole concept of domestic violence and abuse against women.”

Lorena became a citizen in the summer of 1994 and helped her family become citizens as well. She has lived in Manassas, Virginia since the trial, despite her notoriety.