A Michigan man who electrocuted his ex-wife for hours because he thought she was cheating on him was sentenced in court Monday.
Saul Lucio-Ipina previously pleaded no contest in October to charges of torture and witness tampering and will spend 14 to 30 years in prison. MLive reported.
The victim, who has still not been identified, described the horrific abuse her ex-husband inflicted on her on the stand.
The torture carried out by Lucio-Ipina consisted of hanging her by a noose around her neck and electrocuting her with jumper cables when she would not or could not answer his questions about her alleged infidelity.
Kent County Circuit Judge George Quist said what Lucio-Ipina did was “some of the most egregious conduct I have seen in this court,” according to NBC affiliate WOOD reported.
Saul Lucio-Ipina (right) and his lawyer listen as he is sentenced for electrocuting and torturing his ex-wife twice. He believed she was cheating on him
Pictured: an improvised torture device to which Lucio-Ipina tied his ex-wife while he electrocuted her
The swing he tied her to was in the basement of the house, pictured
“Anyone who would do this kind of thing, I think in general, is a danger,” Quist added.
Amid hours of testimony during one day of the trial, the victim said Lucio-Ipina once ordered her into the basement of their home before forcing her to stand on a bucket with a noose around her neck.
“He hit her while she was sitting on the bucket,” Quist said during the sentencing hearing. ‘Eventually she fell off and hung there for a while. Mr. Lucio knocked her down.”
This incident was initially not reported to the police.
Police said the second instance of torture he was accused of involved tying his ex-wife with rope to a child’s swing in their basement. He then wrapped a metal wire around her arms and back.
He connected jumper cables to the wire and electrocuted her for about five hours while repeatedly interrogating her about cheating.
“Every time I answered a question or didn’t answer a question, he zapped me,” the woman testified.
Kent County Circuit Judge George Quist recounted the gruesome details of Lucio-Ipina’s crimes before imposing sentence
Lucio-Ipina, pictured in his mugshot, repeatedly apologized to his ex-wife and showed remorse, reporters said in court
She also said that after this she went to the police and filed a report.
The woman did not make a victim statement during the hearing.
Lucio-Ipina repeatedly apologized to his ex-wife but never mentioned her by name, MLive reported.
“I want to apologize to my victim first and foremost and to everyone I have hurt in this process, which means my entire family and community,” Lucio said.
Lucio-Ipina was sentenced to a minimum of fourteen years for both counts of torture, with the prison sentences to be served concurrently.
He was sentenced to 544 days in prison for the witness intimidation charge.