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Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 11:35
Glyn Griffiths, aged 28, attacked his wife Donna as they worked together one evening, telling her 'If I can't have you, no-one can'.
When she begged for help, he said that he would watch her bleed to death and then kill himself.
Exeter Crown Court was told that Griffiths, who lived with his 36-year-old wife in Bridgwater, at the time of the attack, had stabbed her 'anywhere he could get to' with an eight-inch kitchen knife.
Two of the wounds, which punctured her left lung, were potentially lethal.
The court also heard Griffiths had previously threatened a partner with a knife and said he would kill her.
Judge Graham Cottle, sentencing Griffiths for attempted murder, said: "It is clear that you intended to kill your wife and you made every effort to bring that conclusion about. It was only a miracle that she survived."
The couple, who married in 2006, were living in Wyndham Road with their children from previous relationships.
However, Griffiths' behaviour had become increasingly erratic and, shortly before the attack on December 12 last year, Mrs Griffiths had said she would be seeking to end their marriage after Christmas.
They had already briefly separated and were sleeping apart at the time of the attack.
Griffiths, a builder, also often helped his wife at her cleaning job with Persimmon Homes in the town. He went with her on December 12 and attacked her while she was cleaning a kitchen area.
He stabbed her in the back of the neck, narrowly missing important nerves, arteries and veins, before stabbing her in the back, puncturing her left lung.
Andrew Oldland, prosecuting, said Griffiths had subjected his wife to a 'sustained attack'.
"She screamed at him 'Why? Why? Please think of the kids'," he said.
"He replied 'if I can't have you, no-one can. I'm going to watch you bleed to death and then kill myself'."
Despite her injuries, Mrs Griffiths eventually managed to disarm her husband, at which point he fled.
Police arrived at the scene to find her crying for help, with a blood-stained knife by her side. She spent five days in hospital and is still recovering from the attack.
Alan Large, in mitigation, said Griffiths had allowed himself to be disarmed by his critically wounded wife, a sign of his immediate remorse over the attack.
He said his client suffered from amnesia and did not remember the attack.
Mr Large said: "He knows he has done something dreadful. He has attacked his wife in a most serious way and faces a significant sentence."
Judge Cottle ordered Griffiths to serve an indeterminate life sentence for public safety. He will have to serve at least six years before being considered for release and even then will have to satisfy experts that he does not pose a threat.
The judge said: "She must have thought she was going to die and that it was only a matter of time before she did."
