A Wodonga father who stabbed the mother of his children in her own home used such force, he bent the blade of the weapon.
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One of the man's daughters was sleeping next to her mum when the 50-year-old stabbed her multiple times on June 10 last year.
The teenager screamed and tried to get her father to stop, but her mum was left covered in blood from stab wounds and injuries from a mattock handle.
The man, his ex-wife, their two children and a prosecutor wept in the County Court as victim impact statements were read, documenting how the man had shattered their lives.
"Please, please, leave our mum alone and sort yourself out," the daughter who witnessed the bloody attack said.
"You broke into our home, our safe place where we feel the most protected... now we are left traumatised."
The man's offending followed a relationship breakdown and money issues.
His ex-wife left their home and moved into an O'Meara Street home in White Box Rise early last year.
The man found out she was in a new relationship though Facebook three days before the attack.
The father smashed the door to the front glass panel of the woman's home, broke the door, and attacked the woman before she could get out of bed.
She said she could feel the anger behind every blow.
The victim's mother arrived and found the woman covered in blood while being worked on by paramedics.
"My life has never been the same since the attack," the victim told the court.
"Your actions have broken me."
Their oldest daughter said he should feel ashamed.
"Who would think a dad could do this," the teenager said between tears.
"The night of June 10 has forever left me living in fear."
The teenager has been bullied at school and online over the incident, including being told to kill herself.
Their youngest daughter said you wouldn't treat an animal that way, "let alone someone you've been with your whole life".
The father apologised for his actions.
His lawyer Nick Goodenough said he accepted jail was the only option.
"He apologises to his ex-wife, he apologises to his children, he apologises to the extended family who are affected by this," Mr Goodenough said.
"The ripples of offences such as this carry on forever, for a lifetime."
Judge Amanda Chambers said the question many would have was "why".
She wondered how he could develop that much resentment and anger and react in such a way.
The man has no criminal history.
Mr Goodenough asked that his client not receive a crushing sentence, arguing that at the age of 50 he still had something to contribute to society.
The man will be sentenced at a later date.
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