Woman who bit ex’s testicles cleared of malicious castration

A North Carolina woman accused of trying to bite off her ex-boyfriend’s testicles has been found not guilty of malicious castration.

A jury also cleared 54-year-old Martinne Delavega on an assault charge Thursday.

Her ex-boyfriend testified Tuesday that he punched her head to stop her as she bit his chest and arms and ripped open his scrotum during an argument in September 2015. 

But when Delavega took the stand Wednesday, she asserted she was defending herself from his assault. 

Delavega is pictured after being arrested in 2015. She was cleared Wednesday of malicious castration and assault charges

Delavega claimed she thought she was biting his leg as he tackled, hit and choked her.

‘He was extremely angry, yelling, screaming profanities at me,’ Delavaga told jurors while on the stand.

‘I thought, he’s gonna kill me,’ said Delavaga. ‘I couldn’t get away from him. I just started biting.’ 

Her unidentified ex-boyfriend said he still has psychological and physical problems.

‘I live in this community. I work in this community. It’s embarrassing,’ he told jurors. 

After being arrested in 2015, Delavega’s mugshot showed her with blood on her shirt and a bandage around her head. 

Jurors deliberated for four hours and found Delavega not guilty on all charges. 

If Delavega was found guilty she could have spent up to eight years in prison. 

Her attorney Matt Silva says the verdict is ‘a poor definition of victory,’ given that she ‘endured three years of being vilified.’ 

She claims she was defending herself from her ex as he pinned her down