A mentally ill man who stabbed his wife 16 times after hearing voices urging him to kill her shouldn't be made an example of to deter domestic violence, a Sydney court has heard.
Andrzej Gierczynski, 61, was found guilty of murdering his wife Danuta Gierczynski after stabbing her to death in the kitchen of their Chipping Norton home in October 2010.
At a Supreme Court sentence hearing on Friday, Justice Christine Adamson said the case bore similarities to others where violent, controlling men kill their wives or girlfriends.
She said Gierczynski would take issue with his wife wearing lipstick to work because he thought she was trying to attract male colleagues, and even videotaped their arguments as if to protect himself against later criminal charges.
While he could present a charming front, Gierczynski was violent to his wife throughout their 28-year marriage, she said.
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She said if an appropriately severe sentence wasn't imposed, society might wrongly assume the justice system didn't think such a crime was "very, very serious".
But defence barrister Ian Lloyd QC said Gierczynski was mentally unwell and, as such, shouldn't be punished as a statement against such domestic violence.
"There is something odd about this person and there always will be," he told the court.
While agreeing that publicly condemning violent relationships was critical, Mr Lloyd said his client could not be considered an "appropriate vehicle" for such punishment given his obvious mental abnormalities.
When Mr Lloyd insisted there were no prior instances of Gierczynski threatening or assaulting his wife with a knife, Justice Adamson agreed: "That's true. Usually he assaulted her with his bare hands."
Gierczynski sobbed while giving evidence about previous domestic violence allegations made against him by his first wife in Poland.
He said his ex-wife's parents had been highly ranked members of the Communist regime who orchestrated a conspiracy against him.
At one point, he took his head in his hands and yelled, "It's so painful!"
Justice Adamson will deliver her sentence at a later date.
