A man who hacked off his wife’s fingers and toes in a frenzied machete attack because she wanted to leave him has been jailed for at least six years.
Atinae Afamiliona, 50, was driving through Sydney’s south-west with his wife of over 20 years Tiperia Afamiliona in August 2016 when she suggested they separate.
They continued arguing as Afamiliona pulled over. His wife got out of the car but he tried to force her back in, slamming her head on the door in the process.
He then pulled a 45-centimetre-long machete from under his seat and repeatedly struck his wife’s hands.
Atinae Afamiliona, 50, was driving through Sydney’s south-west with his wife of over 20 years Tiperia Afamiliona in August 2016 when she suggested they separate. He then hacked off her fingers and toes in a frenzied machete attack
Afamiliona (a court sketch from a previous appearance is pictured) has been jailed for at least six years
She fell to the ground and crawled under the car for protection but he continued to hack away at her feet and legs.
‘This is what you want,’ the man yelled at his wife during the attack, an agreed statement of facts states, according to the ABC.
‘At the outset it must be recognised that this was a brutal, unprovoked, unabated, unrelenting and vicious attack’, Acting Judge Greg Grogin said on Thursday.
‘The severity of the wounding is grave and horrendous.’
Afamiliona was sentenced on Thursday at the Campbelltown District Court to nine years’ jail with a non-parole period of six years.
Ms Afamiliona is permanently disfigured – her left hand was ‘de-gloved’ of a large portion of skin, while two of her toes and two of her fingers were partly amputated.
His wife got out of the car but he tried to force her back in, slamming her head on the door in the process
Blood appears on a car seized by police last year in their investigation at Alfamiliona’s home
When Afamiliona dropped his bleeding wife at the Campbelltown Hospital, he said, ‘Babe, I shouldn’t do this to you, I am sorry for what I do, I am sorry for what I do but I didn’t mean to do this to you.’
He then drove home, changed his clothes, cleaned the machete and waited for police.
Afamiliona pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
At his sentencing, his wife submitted a letter of support and asked for leniency.
When Afamiliona dropped his bleeding wife at the Campbelltown Hospital, he said, ‘Babe, I shouldn’t do this to you, I am sorry for what I do’
At Afamiliona’s sentencing, his wife submitted a letter of support and asked for leniency
‘I have found it in my heart to forgive my husband for his unlike-him actions, that has ripped the heart out of myself,’ Ms Afamiliona wrote.
‘I have also come to terms and accepted that I too played my part in the unfolding of this unfortunate nightmare.’
Afamiliona will be eligible for release on August 29, 2022.