Charges Filed Against Woman Accused Of Snipping Husband

The Riverside County District Attorney’s office filed felony charges against a 69-year-old Palm Springs woman who is accused of trying to cut off her husband’s penis with heavy-duty scissors.

Virginia Valdez was charged Wednesday with inflicting corporal injury on a spouse and assault with a deadly weapon. She faces arraignment on Jan. 31.

Valdez was released from jail two days after her Dec. 5 arrest after police investigated a report she had assaulted her husband at their home on the 1700 block of Rochelle Road.

“Officers made contact with the 62-year-old male victim, who reported that his wife had attempted to sever his penis with scissors, resulting in injuries to the area,” Sgt. Melissa Desmarais said the day after the alleged attack.

Her husband was treated and released from Desert Regional Medical Center, and his wife was booked on suspicion of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and spousal abuse.

At the time, police did not say what precipitated the attack, nor was it clear whether Valdez returned to the home she shared with her husband after being released.

The case is reminiscent of that of Lorena Bobbitt, who gained notoriety in 1994 when she cut off her husband’s penis while he slept. John Wayne Bobbitt, an ex-Marine, allegedly came home drunk and raped his wife.

Lorena Bobbitt was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.