A Nunamara man inflicted an "unprovoked, brutal and sustained" attack on his then wife in April which could have been lethal, the Supreme Court in Launceston heard.
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Justice Michael Brett told Cory Leigh Milner, 48, that his offence was "family violence of the most serious kind".
Milner pleaded guilty to three counts of wounding and two counts of assault.
Justice Brett said Milner and his wife Lorraine Marlene Milner had been drinking for some hours before the incident on April 28, 2020.
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The court heard that the pair had a standing agreement that Milner would sleep in the spare bedroom after he had been drinking because of a history of incontinence when he was intoxicated.
When Lorraine Milner tried to direct Milner to the spare bedroom there was a dispute
Milner pushed her to the floor and punched her to the face a number of times while holding her down.
He went to a knife block in the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
He made several thrusting motions at her stomach which pierced clothing.
"If you had succeeded a serious injury with potentially catastrophic consequences could have occurred," Justice Brett said
He changed his grip on the knife and stabbed her in the right shoulder blade.
After the initial assault and three wounding incidents, he also pushed her to the floor and punched her to the back of the head several times.
The court heard that she struggled free and phoned police who arrived to find the complainant bleeding and Milner asleep in bed.
The knife was found in the hallway.
Justice Brett said Ms Milner required five stitches in her shoulder and one eye was almost closed because of bruising and her face was extremely bruised.
"A victim impact statement described extreme physical, psychological and emotional impacts," he said.
"That you were clearly intoxicated when you perpetrated this crime does not mitigate the seriousness."
Justice Brett said his criminal record for assault was concerning with convictions for assault in 2009, 2015, and 2018.
"The only mitigating factor is that you claim to be remorseful and your counsel says you want to deal with your alcohol problem," he said.
"Quite frankly that is something you should have done years ago."
He sentenced him to three years jail, backdated to April 28, 2020, with a non-parole period of 18 months.