A man accused of attempting to murder his wife allegedly stabbed her in the arm in a drunken attack that left the blade lodged so deep it had to be surgically removed, a court has heard.
The man, who is aged in his 40s and has not been named to protect the alleged victim's identity, faced the start of his ACT Supreme Court jury trial on Tuesday, June 16.
He has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and property damage, as well as four alternative charges of choking, making a threat to kill, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and inflicting grievous bodily harm.
In his opening address to jurors, prosecutor Sam McLaughlin said the couple of more than two decades had been experiencing relationship difficulties "for some months" and had attended counselling sessions before the attempted murder.
He said that leading up to the alleged attack the "prospects for the relationship were poor" and the man had changed his will and life insurance to remove his wife.
The court heard that on July 5, 2024, the man returned home about 10.47pm after drinking at a bar.
When the man arrived home, the wife described him as initially being "quite happy, very drunk and almost playful", the prosecutor told the jury.
However, a verbal argument is said to have broken out between the pair in their room shortly after.
As the argument escalated, the man allegedly held the back of his wife's neck and told her: "I'm going to kill you."
He is accused of assaulting his wife multiple times by strangling her with the hood of her jumper and punching her in the face.
At times, the alleged assault occurred in the presence of their daughter who called triple zero.
The prosecutor argued the man eventually grabbed a chef's knife from the kitchen and allegedly stabbed his wife in the forearm she had raised in self-defence.
The court heard the knife had to be surgically removed at a hospital, where the wife also noticed a small cut on her chest.
Prosecutor McLaughlin argued this injury allegedly occurred when the blade pierced through her arm.
He said that shortly after the alleged stabbing, the man "had a moment of clarity" before he started talking about killing himself.
The court heard he eventually grabbed his car keys and a smaller knife from the kitchen, telling his wife that he was going "to run into a tree".
He allegedly kicked a wall as he left the home and encountered police as he stepped outside.
The prosecutor said the husband told officers outside, "Her, she needs help." When asked why, the man allegedly responded, "Stab wound by me."
In his opening address, defence barrister Jack Pappas said his client denied all charges and argued they could not be proven by the prosecution.
He said there was no contest that when the woman was injured, her husband was holding "a very sharp knife and he continued to hold the knife whilst she was injured".
However, he said evidence presented in the trial would contradict the prosecutions' claims about what happened that night, including the most serious allegation that the man intended to kill his wife.
"At the end of the evidence, I am going to suggest that you would not be able to conclude ... that this man stabbed his wife deliberately with the intention of killing her," he told the jury.
The trial before Justice Belinda Baker continues.
