She allegedly had a list of different ways to mutilate sex organs.
By Emily Blackwood — Written on Nov 29, 2017
A 26-year-old woman was arrested Sunday after police say she severed her boyfriend's genitals with a pair of gardening shears while he was asleep in her apartment in the central Argentinian city of Cordoba.
Brenda Barattini, who works as an architect, is being held on suspicion of wounding Sergio Fernandez, a 40-year-old reggae singer. Her lawyer now claims that she was defending herself from a sex attack after she was fooled into letting Fernandez into her apartment.
"She let him into her apartment because he's someone who's in a rock band and is an acquaintance of her brother but once inside, instead of removing a musical instrument as he was supposed to, he attacked her sexually and she assumed a defensive attitude," her lawyer, Carlos Nayi said. "Whether or not she acted excessively is for the courts to decide."
While investigating the crime, police found no evidence of Barattini being attacked, but plenty that suggested she attacked Fernandez out of revenge.
A notebook was discovered in her apartment that contained a list of ideas on different ways to mutilate sex organs. Expressions and words such as "scalpel," "cut him," "tape," and "his mobile," were written in the book.
The list ended with the message: "Ask for help."
Fernandez's lawyer said that his client and Barattini were not strangers, but in a relationship. He claims that the pair had been dating for several months, and they were in the middle of a sexual game when the attack happened, not asleep like she originally claimed.
"I don't understand what's happened," said his lawyer, Eduardo Perez. "This was a peaceful encounter. They were in the middle of things. He wasn't asleep. They began with a sexual game in which he was blindfolded."
Perez also hinted that Fernandez wanted to end the relationship, which is was why he was attacked. That, and that Barattini found messages on his phone which led her to believe he was being unfaithful, but those reports are unconfirmed.
Though Fernandez is expected to make a full recovery, State Prosecutor Bettina Croppi said the injuries he suffered were "very serious."
"It's very possible he's lost the ability to be able to father children," she said. "What I can say is that the man wasn't tied up when police arrived. He was helped by neighbours first and then by paramedics who arrived after the police."
Daily Mail
Fernandez is currently still in intensive care and is too weak to be questioned.
Barattini has not yet given a statement and will not be formally questioned until later in the week after her psychiatric evaluation. Police are also waiting for test results to determine if she was raped or sexually attacked.
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. Every Wednesday at 10:20 p.m. you can ask her any and all questions about self-love, dating, and relationships LIVE on YourTango’s Facebook page. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).