On this day, June 23, in 1993, Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband’s penis, becoming instant fodder for late night comedians and sparking a national debate over marital rape.
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John Wayne Bobbitt came home to the couple’s Manassas apartment drunk and raped his wife, according to Lorena Bobbitt. Afterward, she went to the kitchen, grabbed a carving knife, went back to the bedroom where John was asleep and severed his penis.
She ran to her car and drove off, tossing the penis out the car window into a field. She then called police. During an extensive search, authorities found the penis, packed it in ice and took it to the hospital.
It was reattached during a nine-hour surgery.
John was tried on the spousal rape charge, but acquitted. For her attack, Lorena was found not guilty due to temporary insanity.
John went on to appear in adult movies and have run-ins with the law, including convictions for domestic battery against a later girlfriend and theft of more than $140,000 in clothing.
Lorena spend 45 days in a psychiatric hospital and continued living in the D.C.-area.
