Man jailed over 'ferocious' stabbing of ex-partner in Sydney car park

A woman who survived a domestic violence stabbing at the hands of a former partner who could not accept rejection has told a court that the warning signs of stalking and harassment "should have been enough".

Anthony Monteleone was on Friday handed a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison after he was found guilty in late March of wounding with intent to murder, after a jury heard evidence about their short but intense relationship in 2024.

He became "infatuated" and was unable to accept her unequivocal decision to end things, the jury heard, ignoring her repeated requests to cease contact.

An AVO was put in place in April that year, which Monteleone breached.

In May 2024, he waited for some 40 minutes in the car park of an Alexandria gym and attacked the woman as she walked to her car, stabbing her several times to the head, neck and chest.

At trial, Monteleone's lawyers denied he had an intention to kill, but the jury rejected his account.

Appearing in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court, the woman told a judge it was not a "misunderstanding" but a deliberate attack "from a man who could not take no for an answer".

Victim recounts the 'fight for my life'

In her victim impact statement, she reflected that her story was "not just about what was done" to her, but spoke to a wider problem.

She said she stood before the court not only as a victim of a violent crime, but as a woman and "a voice for those who no longer have one".

"Action must come before violence, not after, because not every woman survives," she said.

"But survival does not mean I walked away unchanged."

She described the stabbing as not "just an attack on my body," but an attack on her sense of safety, trust and freedom.

"He stabbed me in broad daylight in a place that should have been safe,"

she said.

"What took seconds became a fight for my life."

The woman said the sentencing was not just about what was done to her, but recognising "the seriousness of this kind of behaviour" and ensuring it was not "minimised".

"When violence like this is excused, overlooked or reduced, it creates a space for it to happen again," she said.

"What happened to me should have never happened, and my responsibility now is to make sure it is not ignored."

Offender's 'possessiveness' detailed

In submissions prior to the sentence, defence counsel Claire O'Neill said Monteleone "desisted" in the face of resistance to the attack by two bystanders, which reduced the objective gravity of the offence.

But Judge Alistair Abadee pointed out he did not "desist" when the woman fought back.

"He stabbed her numerous times," he said.

"He didn't just stab her once … He kept on going. Yes it was 25 seconds. But there were a lot of wounds. Not just to the neck, but the chest area."

In sentencing, the judge said Monteleone was "utterly delusional" in his hope of patching things up with the woman through repeated messages to her, and said that his "possessiveness of the victim was extreme".

The judge described the offending as not impulsive and occurring in "fairly brazen" circumstances.

He said Monteleone's mindset "took a darker turn" after the AVO breach, when he conducted internet searches of the woman's business.

The judge said the woman undoubtedly experienced "panic and terror" during the attack.

Crown Prosecutor Rossi Kotsis earlier described the incident as "a ferocious and terrifying attack" which occurred while there were two "extraordinarily brave" men nearby in the car park.

He said it would be unrealistic to accept the suggestion that Monteleone stopped his attack for any other reason than he was "terrified" and thought he may get tackled by somebody, as he said in his police interview.

"My submission is that if those men weren't there, it is likely (she) would be dead,"

he said.

In his recorded police interview which was played to the jury, Monteleone admitted he "snuck up on" the woman but claimed he did not know what he was going to do with the knife.

He told police there were "a lot of things" going on in his mind at the time.

"Nothing that I wanted to hurt her, or injure her," he said.

Monteleone told authorities that the incident "went so fast" and afterwards he felt "a lot of regret".

The judge made a finding of special circumstances but described Monteleone's prospects of rehabilitation as no higher than "guarded".

He will serve a minimum term of just over eight-and-a-half years and will not be eligible for parole until late 2033, for both the attempted murder and contravening the AVO.