One of the best web novels from the manhwa industry, The Beginning After The End, also known as TBATE, has recently gained a lot of popularity from manga fans as well. The web series, written by TurtleMe, has been growing exponentially, and it has been amassing fans for the past 6 years, who are now […]
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Helldivers 2 has been the co-op game in 2024. This sequel to an old classic has found huge success since its release and has been a fan favorite for gaming with friends. As you’d expect from a co-op game as big as this, the game has crossplay between PS5 and PC. But while the game […]
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When it comes to street-level heroes in the Marvel universe, few come close to Spider-Man. Moreover, his accomplishments aren’t just confined to being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, as his recent adventures have taken him across universes and dimensions. But despite his abilities, Florence Pugh believes her MCU counterpart can take down the webhead. Although The […]
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The Joker movie that came out back in 2019 was a perfect blend of the emotional yet psychotic life of Arthur Fleck. The storyline pretty much displayed Fleck’s unfortunate upbringing and the struggles he faced as an adult, leading him to become the attention-seeking criminal mastermind who wanted to seek revenge on the entire world. […]
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MrBeast has been one of the most innovative and respectable content creators of all time. Changing one life after the other with his videos, he climbed the ranks to be noted amongst the elites of YouTube. While he isn’t a stranger to controversies, his recent collaboration with Logan Paul and KSI seems to have taken […]
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Bandai Namco is having a great time at the moment following the success of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero. The game was well received by players and is currently topping the charts. Following the success of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Bandai Namco seems to be allegedly involved with the development of a Death Note game titled […]
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RORY MCILROY caught an outrageous stray during a discussion about the upcoming US Presidential election on ABC.
The PGA golfer found himself at the centre of a brutal swipe at Vice President Kamala Harris during the latest episode of This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
Reince Priebus, a former White House Chief of Staff under Donald Trump was criticising Harris’ recent appearance on US talk show The View.
The former chairman of the Republican National Committee was picking holes in Trump’s rival when he dragged up McIlroy’s collapse at the US Open in June.
Priebus said: “She wanted to clarify the two most important issues that are facing these two candidates – the US economy and immigration.
“She bombed like Rory at the US Open and said that there would be nothing that she would do that would be different to Joe Biden.”
Missing out on the US Open title was undoubtedly one of the most disappointing days in McIlroy’s career.
McIlroy was left utterly devastated after his last hole implosion made him narrowly miss out on the US Open to Bryson DeChambeau.
Holding a two-shot lead during the final round, McIlroy carded three bogeys across the final five holes – missing two putts from a combined distance of seven feet.
The Northern Irishman called it the “toughest day in 17 years” after he came within two shots of ending his 10 year major drought.
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The former world No1 stepped back from golf course for a few weeks following his meltdown at Pinehurst and divorce U-turn drama.
He called off his separation less than a month after he initially filed paperwork to split with the mother of his three-year-old daughter.
RORY MCILROY enjoyed a high-profile romance with former tennis world number one Caroline Wozniacki before their split in 2014.
The following year, the golf ace began dating Erica Stoll, who he had first met on the PGA Tour in 2011.
Erica often interacted with players through her role as the PGA’s manager of championship volunteer operations.
She even prevented McIlroy from missing his tee time at the 2012 Ryder Cup after some confusion over the time zone.
The incident began a firm friendship between the pair, four years before their relationship turned romantic.
McIlroy and Erica were spotted on a string of dates in Rochester, New York, in the early days of their relationship.
Just eight months later, the couple got engaged in Paris and walked down the aisle at Ashford Castle in Ireland in 2017.
The pair then welcomed daughter Poppy into the world three years later.
Throughout their time together, McIlroy and Erica have kept their relationship to themselves, with the golfer keen to protect his family from the cameras during filming of Netflix’s Full Swing documentary series.
However, after seven years of marriage, McIlroy filed for divorce from Erica.
The reasons for the divorce were not disclosed, but the Northern Irishman submitted documents to a court in Florida.
However, a few weeks later, performed a U-turn on their decision to divorce.
McIlroy told the outlet: “Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.”
Responding to the random gibe, one fan wrote on X: “McIlroy catching strays while political pundits talk about Kamala Harris.”
A second said: “Rory McIlroy just caught an unnecessary / awesome stray.”
A third added: “Damn! Why is poor McIlroy being dragged into this?”
While another replied “We’ve reached a point in the election cycle where even McIlroy is catching strays.”
By Ian Tuckey
Rory McIlroy spent more than 100 weeks at World No1 – and has scooped four Majors and won 40 tournaments in all SO FAR.
Only all-time greats Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have matched his feat of winning one of the big four by the age of 25.
And after winning the 2011 US Open, the Northern Ireland ace added the PGA Championship the following year – adding the Open and PGA crowns in 2014.
Here’s a rundown on the glittering career of the 35-year-old, five-time Ryder Cup winner, who was also a strong critic of the rival Saudi-backed LIV tour:
Turned professional in September.
Became the youngest Affiliate Member in the history of The European Tour to earn a tour card.
Made a winning Ryder Cup debut.
Became the youngest player to reach $10m earnings on the PGA Tour.
But won his first major the following month – the US Open.
Named Sports Person of the year by RTE – Ireland’s main broadcaster.
Named PGA Tour player of the year and picked up more Ryder Cup glory.
Won the Open at Royal Liverpool.
Then clinched back-to-back PGA crowns, beating Phil Mickelson by one stroke.
Named RTE Sports Person of the year for a second time.
Again helped Europe win the Ryder Cup.
Suffered Ryder Cup defeat.
But gained top 10 finishes at the Masters, The Open and 3 WGC events.
And with Nike largely withdrawing from the golf market, he landed an £80m endorsement deal with TaylorMade.
But then won two tournaments – the Zurich Classic for his 25th PGA title and the Wells Fargo Championship.
PRINCESS Diana’s brother Charles Spencer confirmed that he is in a relationship with Norwegian archaeologist Cat Jarman, who is his podcast co-host.
Earl Spencer, 60, revealed in June that he was divorcing his third wife Countess Karen Spencer, who he married in 2011.
However, the dad-of-seven confirmed to hosts Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain today that he has found love again with Cat.
Charles appeared on the show to promote his new book, The Rabbit Hole Book: 99 adventures into the history of stuff, which he co-wrote with his podcast co-stars Cat and the Reverend Richard Coles, who starred on Strictly.
He said: “Cat Jarman, who is my partner now actually, but she’s a brilliant archaeologist.
“It sounds like an Alan Partridge title, but she is a Nordic Person of 2024, which is usually handed out to someone like Sven-Göran Eriksson or a composer to be Nordic Person of the Year.
“You have to be respected throughout all Scandinavian and Nordic countries, and she totally is.”
Charles was asked about how he met Cat, and he replied: “Well, first of all, I met her because we both have the same publisher.
“But secondly, I know this sounds rather bizarre, but she came to dig up a Roman villa on the land I’ve got.
“And then Richard Coles, Cat and I would end up together.
“Richard had been recently bereaved, so he’s semi living with me, and the three of us would just talk and talk and talk.
“And Kat said, ‘let’s do a podcast’. And after the podcast came this book.”
Charles recently hinted at their relationship in an interview with The Times.
Speaking of his bond with Cat, he said: “We are close,” after being asked “Very close?”, he replied: “Well, close enough.”
Cat is currently separated from her husband, with whom she shares two children.
Back in 2021, Cat shared a photo next to Charles at his Althorp Estate, in West Northamptonshire, which was Princess Diana’s childhood home.
She wrote: “Exciting news! I’m finally allowed to share that this summer, @charles.earl.spencer asked me to help him search for the lost medieval village in the park of his Althorp estate.
“With a brilliant team of volunteers and my colleague prof Mark Horton, we spent two weeks digging five trenches searching for it.
“The results will be shown on Channel 4 on the 15th November at 9pm in the programme Ancient Secrets of Althorp with Charles Spencer.”
Cat Jarman, who is my partner now actually, but she’s a brilliant archaeologist
Charles Spencer
At the time Charles was married to Karen Gordon, a Canadian philanthropist and founder of the Whole Child charity, who Charles wed in June 2011 after they met having been set up on a blind date at a Los Angeles restaurant the year before.
The pair married in the grounds of Althorp, where Diana is buried, four months after Charles proposed.
They had one daughter together, Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer, who was born in 2012 and has been raised at Althorp.
Charles said in June he was going through an “immensely sad” divorce from his third wife.
He said he wanted to devote himself to his children and grandchildren, and told the Mail on Sunday: “It is immensely sad.
“I just want to devote myself to all my children, and to my grandchildren, and I wish Karen every happiness in the future.”
It was reported he had hired lawyer Fiona Shackleton – who advised the then-Prince Charles during his divorce from Princess Diana in 1996 – to represent him during the divorce.
Kate wrote on Instagram in August that she was looking to move out of Althorp and find somewhere else to live.
She wrote: “I’m currently still at Althorp, and as we move into the fall, I look forward to closing this chapter out with you all and launching the next.”
THE late Princess of Wales grew up on the Althorp Estate alongside her siblings Lady Sarah, Lady Jane Fellowes, and her brother Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer.
When Diana died in 1997, her three siblings accompanied Charles to collect her body from Paris.
Born Charles Edward Maurice Spencer on May 20, 1964, Earl Spencer is Princess Diana’s younger brother and Prince William and Prince Harry’s maternal uncle.
He is the ninth Earl to inherit the Spencer title, which he did in 1992. Queen Elizabeth II was his godmother, and his parents were the Viscount and Viscountess Althorp.
With the eyes of the world on him, Earl Spencer delivered an infamous eulogy to his sister where he lashed out at the media for how they treated the late Princess.
He also used the speech to make a thinly veiled attack on the Royal Family for stripping Diana of her status.
It is believed their marriage deteriorated in recent years with the strain of the Earl’s memoir, A Very Private School, where he detailed the physical and sexual abuse he suffered while at boarding school.
In the book he claims he was abused by an assistant matron at Maidwell Hall when he was a child in the 1970s.
Charles is father to Lady Kitty Spencer, twins Eliza and Amelia Spencer and Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, with his ex-wife Victoria Aitkin.
The Earl, is also dad to Edmund and Lara, who he shares with his second wife Caroline Freud.
In an interview with the Therapy Works podcast in March Charles said that being abused as a child had a huge impact on this choice of romantic partners in adulthood, adding he was left susceptible to women who were incapable of loving him.
He told the podcast: “I think I went for good-looking people who weren’t really into love.
“I’m having a good look at myself and everything around me and I think I would be a lot easier to live with now than I ever have been in the past.”
THE People’s Princess tragically died in a car crash on August 31, 1997, and her peaceful final resting place is at her childhood home.
Her grave is nestled on an island in the beautiful Oval Lake at Althorp House, Northampton.
Understandably, the grave holds great significance for her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Thousands of fans flock to the location each year to pay their respects to the late royal, and Meghan Markle has also visited.
Harry revealed in his memoir Spare that he took his wife to his mother’s final resting place in 2022, where they each had a private moment.
He wrote: “I was finally bringing the girl of my dreams home so she would meet my mother.”
A YOUNG woman has revealed worryingly harness sign she had a rare blood cancer.
Jessica Hamersley, from Essex, noticed a red throbbing splotch on her left shin that kept disappearing and reemerging for over a year.
The 27-year-old, who dismissed it as eczema or a shaving nick, assumed it was merely irritated by her perfumed moisturiser and would disappear on its own.
It was only after her fiancé urged her to get it checked out, fearing it may be related to her contraceptive pill, that she sought medical advice.
When a second pill failed to get rid of the rash she was referred for an X-ray in October 2023, which revealed a mass on her chest.
Subsequent biopsies in February found Jessica had Hodgkin lymphoma – a rare cancer that starts in the white blood cells.
A PET scan in March also showed the mass on her chest was more than seven inches in size and had been “crushing” her heart.
Recalling the ordeal, Jessica said: “I sometimes use perfumed moisturiser and sometimes with eczema that can cause my skin to have a little bit of a flare up.
“Honestly at the time I didn’t think anything serious of it.
“I thought maybe it was a flare-up on my leg or I caught myself when I was shaving. You never think of cancer.
“A rash on my leg literally saved my life.
” I don’t smoke, I only drink really rarely when I go out.
“So I was thinking, I’m perfectly healthy, why would I get cancer?
“I had no cough, when I saw the chest x-rays I thought oh my god that was sitting on my chest but I felt fine. It’s really strange.
“I was so healthy. I actually feel more unwell from the chemo than I did before. I felt completely healthy with all the tumours.
“I even remember when I went to the x-ray room I said to the radiologist, ‘this is really dramatic, I’m sorry for wasting your time’.
“Usually with Hodgkin lymphoma, you can get loads of other symptoms. I had nothing.”
Hodgkin lymphoma occurs when infection-fighting white blood cells called B-lymphocytes multiply in an abnormal way and collect in certain parts of the lymphatic system.
LYMPHOMA is a term for cancer that starts in the lymph system - a network of vessels and glands that spans your body.
There are two main kinds of lymphoma – Hodgkin Lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Lymphoma can cause many different symptoms, depending on which type of lymphoma it is and where it develops in the body.
The most typical signs are:
Other signs of lymphoma in a more localised area include:
This can cause a painless swelling in a lymph node, usually in the neck, armpit or groin.
Other symptoms include a persistent cough, a fever, night sweats and weight loss.
Around 2,600 people in the UK are diagnosed each year, meaning it accounts for fewer than one per cent of cancers.
In the US, 8,800 cases are spotted annually.
According to Cancer Research UK, almost 85 per cent of those with cancer will survive for five years or more after diagnosis.
Jessica was diagnosed with stage 2A Hodgkin’s lymphoma, meaning the lymphoma was in two or more groups of lymph nodes but there were no typical symptoms.
She also claimed her consultant at the Princess Alexandra Hospital told her the rash on her leg was erythema nodosum, a condition that causes fat tissue to be inflamed.
This usually goes away by itself but can sometimes be a sign of something serious like an inflammatory bowel condition, such as Crohn’s disease, according to the NHS.
The skin usually heals on its own within three to eight weeks without leaving a scar.
But other symptoms, such as joint pain and swelling, can last for several weeks.
Jessica said: “When I spoke to the consultant about it [the rash] he said it’s a really weird way of your body telling you there’s something wrong inside.
“I thought maybe it was triggered with stress. But they said it [the mass] was crushing my heart.
“It was all crazy. I just froze really. I was with my partner and I feel like I zoned out, I wasn’t really listening.
“The whole time they were doing tests they said the worst possibility is cancer so my brain never went there.
“I thought they had the wrong scan.”
She added: “I cried when I was told I was going to lose my hair. Now it’s growing back so it doesn’t phase me as much, I’m used to it.
“But you just kind of go into fight or flight mode and it was just survival. It was just “what’s next? What do we do?”‘
After beginning an aggressive course of chemotherapy in the Spring, in August she was thankfully declared cancer-free.
“It happened so quickly. But my consultant said that if you lose your hair quickly it’s a very good sign that the chemo is working,” Jessica said.
“I looked horrible being bald but that’s what I was clinging to. I was like “oh my god it must be working then”.’
To celebrate being cancer-free, she is now going on holiday to Disneyworld Orlando with her fiancé, William Webber.
She said: “That weight just lifted off of me and all of my family’s shoulders.
“[William] He’s just been amazing. He’s been my rock through it all.
“All through chemo all we ever spoke about was how much of a good time it would be if we went to Disney together.
“I’m going to go celebrate in the happiest place on earth.
“I’m still very out of breath and I feel like my joints are still very weak because I got arthritis from the chemotherapy in my hips and spine.
“I’m just so glad it was caught early and the treatment was less than it would have been. I’m very grateful to that GP.’
Jessica, who was working in customer service before her diagnosis, is now recovering from her treatment and building her stamina back up before going back to work.
She will still need to have follow-up scans and blood tests every few months to check the cancer has not returned.
Now, she is urging anyone concerned by their unusual symptoms to seek medical assistance as soon as possible.
“Life is so short and you don’t realise that until something like this happens,” she added.
“You’re never promised tomorrow and that’s such a big quote that sits in my head now.
“Cancer completely changes your perspective on life. I used to get angry if someone cut me up when I was driving and now I’m just thinking let it go.
“I just let everything go now. It’s never that deep now, it’s never that important anymore.”
WHEN Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband’s penis with a butcher’s knife, it made headlines worldwide.
It is just over 30 years since she went on trial for the shocking crime, which saw her attack husband John, before driving off with his member and throwing it out of a car window.
Police later retrieved it from a field and put it on ice in a hotdog box, before surgeons were able to reattach it following a nine-hour operation.
Both went through court cases that laid bare the violence and lack of trust in their four-year marriage.
The-then 24-year-old manicurist Lorena claimed her husband John Wayne Bobbitt raped her before he fell asleep that night, prompting her to take a knife to his groin.
But the former US Marine John was found not guilty of marital sexual assault and maintains that he did not abuse her. He later used his fame to launch a stint as a porn star – and even formed a rock band called The Severed Parts.
And after undergoing 45 days of psychiatric examinations, Lorena was acquitted of malicious wounding after the court concluded she was temporarily insane, which led her to mutilate her husband while he slept.
Now, a new ITV documentary reveals the extraordinary case is actually one of many and explores what really drives such unique acts of violence.
The one-off film, called I Cut Off His Penis: The Truth Behind The Headlines, which airs tonight, hears the personal testimony of both women and men who have witnessed and felt the impact of this act, known as penicide.
Speaking in the documentary, Lorena says: “As the whole world knows, I cut his penis off. There’s no way for me to candy-coat it. I just said it, because that’s what happened.”
However, she adds that the world “misses the essence of what this whole story was about”, saying: “That’s not who I am, so it’s not why I did it. It’s about what put me in that position.”
Campaigners and psychologists also weigh in on the psychology behind penicide, with one expert explaining: “We often say it’s not an abnormal act – it’s a normal response to an abnormal experience.”
Lorena was born in Venezuela and moved to America when she was 17 “for more opportunities.”
She says: “That was my American dream. Work very hard and find somebody that I could marry, buy a house, have children.”
She adds: “And up until I met my ex-husband everything was fine.”
Lorena worked as a nail technician in a beauty salon and met John at the Marine Club.
She recalls: “He was very nice, very charming, very kind and I just fell in love with him. He had these beautiful blue eyes and I just thought this guy is very attractive, like a poster guy for the Marines.
“Coming from a Catholic background, I never had any boyfriends before. Like I said, I was very young. I was very naive. He was my first love. It was just so innocent and so natural. So yes, it did move quite fast.”
Lorena describes in the film how he proposed to her after finding a ring at the bottom of a swimming pool. The couple got married shortly after Lorena’s 20th birthday.
She says: “They threw us a very nice sweet reception at the campground.”
But she claims that after the reception, John left for a couple of hours to go to a strip bar with his friends.
Lorena says: “I found out later that was going on.”
She adds: “Those were red flags. Big red flags, right? But to me, the sense of being married meant a lot because God says divorce is not acceptable.”
Lorena claims that about a month after they tied the knot, he began to be physically abusive to her.
She alleges: “It escalated to the point that I was raped. In a healthy relationship, yes, you have arguments – not to the point where your husband beats you up or rapes you.
“People say why did she not leave, why did she not pack up and go? Well, it’s not easy.”
She adds: “He made me feel like I was his property. You’re trapped in this situation and there’s no way out. I tried to get away from him but he told me, ‘No matter where you, I’m always going to find you.”
The incident happened on June 23, 1993 in Manassas, Virginia. Lorena recalls: “I was working in a nail salon. I was very tired. I was exhausted.
“We closed the salon at 8pm so I went off to get something to eat before I went home and I fall asleep.
“The next thing I remember is John on top of me. Half asleep/half awake, I was like ‘what’s going on here?’ That’s all I remember.
“I remember that I went to get a glass of water. I don’t remember seeing the knife. I don’t remember any of that.”
She claims she has no memory of chopping off his private parts.
Lorena says: “Next thing I do remember is I was driving in the car and I have the penis in one hand and the knife in the other hand.
“I couldn’t drive straight. I have no idea how I got into the car.”
She adds: “I got scared and I threw it out of the window, his organ.
“I was not in my right frame of mind.”
She admits she didn’t “have a plan” and called her boss who phoned the police before taking Lorena to the hospital.
Lorena recalls: “Ironically he was on the other side of the hospital.”
Journalist Glen Oglaza covered the case for ITV News and compares it to “like something from a horror film.”
Speaking in the documentary, he says of the court case: “It was like the circus had come to town.
“It wasn’t just all the TV cameras and satellite trucks from around the world, there was a carnival atmosphere.
“There were food stalls. There were drinks. There was sausages, hot dogs, all the puns you can imagine.
“People were selling T-shirts, most of them supporting John Wayne Bobbitt.”
He adds: “The way that it generated interest around the world was very unusual, particularly for what was basically a domestic story. It wasn’t a war.
“And the amount of interest was incredible because it’s not the first or last time that this has happened.”
As the trial progressed, Glen says “the pendulum of sympathy swung from him to her.”
Reflecting on what happened, Lorena says: “Sometimes I wish it didn’t happen to me. My life is not a tape that I can rewind.”
Speaking about her life now, she says: “I have become a mother. I have a relationship with this wonderful man. It’s really a matter of having a new life.”
She has set up the Lorena Gallo Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, which supports victims of domestic violence.
Lorena says: “I’m not only a survivor, but I’m advocate against domestic violence and sexual assault and marital rape.”
While the number of penicide cases remains low today, experts tell the documentary that incidents have strangely often come in waves over past decades.
Jacqueline Helfgott, a professor at the Department of Criminal Justice at Seattle University, explains: “Men and women have cut off penises since the dawn of time.
“If you look historically there’s lots of examples of penis cutting around the world.
“And there have been waves of what’s happened in countries like Vietnam, Kenya – so in a community where you have one, you see patterns of a series of women.
“A whole wave of that could be a contagion effect.”
A BRITISH man reveals in the documentary how his partner cut off his penis - five years after John Wayne Bobbitt.
Speaking in the film, Ollie says: “When the Bobbitt case come up, the whole world knew about it but they didn’t know about my case.”
He describes how he and a woman known only as Linda in the film had been in a “casual relationship”.
Ollie says: “It was coming to an end as far as I was concerned.”
It happened in 1998 after a night in the pub. He says: “When we got to her place, it was a case of we’d go upstairs to her bedroom. That’s where it all began and where it all ended.
“The lights were off, the curtains were drawn. I didn’t even see anything. That’s when she produced the stanley blade.
“I didn’t feel pain. I felt a warm sensation with the blood. The first thing I said is, ‘what have you done?’ and she just ran out. And I thought, ‘boy, I’m in trouble.
“Blood everywhere.”
Ollie ran to a phone box to call an ambulance and was rushed to hospital.
He recalls: “The attack did come out of the blue. She picked her moment. She picked her target. She done it when I was most vulnerable.”
To this day, he still doesn’t understand her motive for the horrific attack. Ollie says: “I wasn’t aware of any underlying situation. I still can’t understand what made Linda do something like that. What was in her mind?
“She never displayed anything of that kind of nature.”
He adds: “I wasn’t angry until I got to court because I did not know what kind of person Linda was. She had previous for other forms of violence. And I did not know.”
Ollie admits it affected his ability to trust future partners. He explains: “When something like that happens, you probably put a barrier between you and a woman.”
But he went on to find love with his wife Sue. The couple have been married for 28 years and they have two daughters.
Speaking to Ollie, she says: “You had to learn to trust a woman with your feelings. You were just frightened to do things your body usually does when you’re with a woman. It took a long time to happen.
“I think our relationship progressed quite slow. The intimacy side of things was a good nine months to a year.”
And Sue says of Linda’s actions: “To do that, it beggars belief. I think it was a case of Linda realising that the relationship, whatever it was, was coming to an end. I think she really thought that she would do this to him so nobody else could ever have him.”
*All names have been changed
Dr Apirag Chuangsuwanich, from Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, recalls a particular “epidemic of amputations” across Thailand in the 1970s, with approximately 100 cases of ‘penicide’ nationwide.
It became so alarming that the the Ministry of Public Health sent out information leaflets explaining how to preserve severed organs.
“We started receiving such patients one after the other,” Dr Apirag adds.
“I believe it led to copycat incidents. In some cases the wife had tried to destroy the severed part by flushing it down the toilet or throwing it to animals to eat.”
Another tragic case covered in the documentary is that of Brigitte Harris, who cut off her father Eric’s penis following years of sexual abuse as a child.
After researching cases including the Bobbitt trial and buying a scalpel on eBay, the New Yorker, now 43, handcuffed her father to a chair, gagged him and sliced off his penis before throwing it into the ocean in 2007.
However, in a grim turn of events, after she called police and ambulance services, they arrived to find Eric had choked to death on his gag.
Brigitte was eventually convicted of manslaughter in the second degree after her sister testified that Eric had abused her too.
She was sentenced to the maximum of five to 15 years in prison, but was released on parole after three.
Explaining her actions, she insisted she didn’t mean to kill her father, but wanted to stop him committing further assaults.
She said: “I remember what he did to me when I was sitting on his lap and there was no way I was going to let that happen, so I made up a plan… to stop him doing to others what he did to me, to stop him hurting anyone else.
“When I read about the Bobbitt case and that they were able to reattach his penis I wanted to make sure that couldn’t happen so I would destroy it.”
What unites both Lorena and Brigitte is an insistence that their actions were not motivated by vengeance.
And while motivation can vary, Harriet Wistrich, founder and director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, has an explanation for the psychological pressures that often lead to penicide.
The solicitor says: “We often say it’s not an abnormal act – it’s a normal response to an abnormal experience. You need to look at the circumstances of what took place and the woman’s specific history.”
I Cut Off His Penis: The Truth Behind The Headlines airs at 9pm tonight on ITV1 and is available on ITVX
