AFTER celebrating his 44th birthday with friends, Chris Soteriou and his wife returned to his car - then he was set upon and stabbed.
He didn't know the attack that almost killed him had been planned by his wife and her 49-year-old lover Ari Dimitrakis, who had been having a "torrid" affair for more than two years.
Dimitrakis, a self-employed chauffeur, burst into tears today as he was jailed for seven years for stabbing Mr Soteriou several times on January 2, 2010.
Mr Soteriou was placed in an induced coma and spent three weeks in hospital. He remains in pain and suffers emotional trauma.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan told Dimitrakis the plot was callous, cold-blooded and well-planned.
"You alone attacked Mr Soteriou and inflicted the various injuries upon him which will affect him for the rest of his life," he said.
"You can blame your co-accused as much as you like but by your plea you accept what you did."
Dimitrakis was originally charged with attempted murder but agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of intentionally causing serious injury. He also received credit for agreeing to give evidence against Ms Soteriou.
After sentencing, Mr Soteriou's brother John called Dimitrakis a "gutless prick" and stormed out of court, telling reporters outside he was disappointed by the jail term.
"The sentence he got was very, very lenient. Chris is suffering every day because of what they done to him," he said.
Dimitrakis had known Vicky Soteriou since 1994, the court was told.
Early the next year, she contacted him saying her father was forcing her to marry a man she did not want to wed.
The pair rekindled a sexual relationship after a chance meeting.
During the intense affair, the pair bought burial plots, Ms Soteriou had her lover's name tattooed on her wedding ring finger, hidden beneath her ring, and Dimitrakis had her name tattooed near his groin.
They discussed leaving their spouses, but Ms Soteriou wanted to guarantee her financial security before leaving her husband, who had $2 million in superannuation at the time he was attacked.
Dimitrakis later told police he would raise the subject of killing Mr Soteriou and that he had contacts who would do it, but said he only claimed that because it would bring a sparkle to his lover's eye and lead to "great sex".
On the day of the attack, Dimitrakis met Ms Soteriou in a park where she handed him a knife wrapped in a towel, saying "See you tonight".
Dimitrakis claimed to have no memory from the time he got the knife until he collected his wife from a gaming venue after the attack.
He said he had taken too many tablets and was "off his nut".
That night, Dimitrakis lay in wait as Mr and Ms Soteriou returned to their car. He then stabbed Mr Soteriou, who asked him: "Why are you doing this?"
One of two witnesses, medical practitioners who came to Mr Soteriou's aid, said police were coming and Dimitrakis fled.
Dimitrakis later told two relatives he had done something really bad.
The judge, saying he took into account Dimitrakis' guilty plea and mental condition, jailed him for a minimum five years.
The jail term takes into account a year he has spent in custody.
Ms Soteriou is due to face a pretrial hearing next year.
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