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Bobbitt
Description
Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis with a kitchen knife while he was asleep in their apartment in Manassas, Virginia on 23rd June, 1993. After a nine-hour surgery, Bobbitt’s penis was successfully reattached – and the case became an international news sensation.
The 24 year-old manicurist was charged with malicious wounding and faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted. But in court she showed that her then-husband had repeatedly sexually and physically abused her and was found Not Guilty, on the basis of temporary insanity.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how John’s penis was discovered and transported after amputation; explain why Virginia’s marital abuse laws were insufficient to cover the scope of the Bobbitt’s relationship; and consider one of the weirdest offers to ever come from Playboy…
CONTENT WARNING: rape, domestic violence, gore.
Further Reading:
• ‘Lorena Bobbitt: SEX, LIES, AND AN 8-INCH CARVING KNIFE’ (Vanity Fair, 1993): https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1993/11/lorena-bobbitt-interview-sex-lies-carving-knife
• ‘You Know the Lorena Bobbitt Story. But Not All of It’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/arts/television/lorena-bobbitt-documentary-jordan-peele.html?searchResultPosition=4
• ‘The night Lorena Bobbitt sliced off her husband John’s penis’ (ABC 20/20, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSWTavWC_A
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023.
#90s #US #Crime #Strange
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