Simon Alan Davis was obsessed with the belief his wife Tina had been unfaithful after she joined the NSW Police Force in 2019.
She visited him on March 1, 2021 with plans to end their relationship when he demanded to see her phone.
When she refused, he revealed a kitchen knife from his back pocket and chased her onto the street in Sydney's west, slashing and stabbing her in the neck in a fit of rage.
The 51-year-old was later convicted on counts of wounding with the intent to murder and breaching an apprehended violence order.
"In the car I wanted to see my wife's phone, but she didn't show me and that's when I wanted to kill myself, stab myself in heart … I wanted to see if she loved me," Davis told a psychiatrist after the incident.
Neighbours who rushed out to intervene during the attack, putting themselves between the two and trying to calm Davis, recounted the man screaming abuse at the victim.
He managed to grab her again and stabbed her multiple times in the neck before she escaped into a neighbour's home and they locked the door.
Davis turned the knife on himself before fleeing the scene.
District Court Judge Huw Baker on Thursday described the attack as "persistent, sustained and extremely violent".
"It was less serious than other attacks of this nature, but that was more down to good luck rather than the acts of the offender," he said.
During the trial, the Crown and defence argued over Davis's state of mind and whether mental illness played a role in his actions.
Davis told psychiatrists he had fantasised about harming his wife and himself but didn't intend to kill her, instead wanting to stab her multiple times as a warning.
The Crown argued Davis's actions were motivated by rage and jealousy fuelled by rejection, rather than a disorder.
The defence said it was clear his mental instability contributed to his inability to control his behaviour stemming from the rage and jealousy of being unable to control his wife.
The court heard from three different forensic psychiatrists, who couldn't agree on his mental condition.
Their diagnoses ranged from his having no acute mental illness to depression and anxiety, and adjustment disorder.
Judge Baker took into account the 51-year-old's reduced moral culpability due to his mental state but also noted the need for general deterrence as he sentenced him to 11 years and six months in prison, with a non-parole period of eight years and six months.
"When domestic violence is involved before the courts, the breakdown of marriage cannot be used to justify the violence," he said.
"The continued prevalence (of domestic violence) and the trauma it has on the community must be denounced."
As the marriage deteriorated, Davis's wife took out multiple restraining orders which were repeatedly breached in the lead-up to the attack.
Davis will be eligible for conditional release in August 2029.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
beyondblue 1300 22 4636
13°C