WARNING: Distressing content

A woman has spoken of having to “fight for (her) life” after her ex-boyfriend stabbed her in the neck in a Sydney carpark, telling a court she is using her voice to speak about the attack that could have killed her “for those who no longer have one”.

It took the jury just 3½ hours to find Anthony Monteleone guilty of stabbing his former girlfriend with intent to murder in May 2024.

Monteleone had waited in a carpark in Sydney’s inner west for 40 minutes for his ex-girlfriend to come out of the gym before he stabbed her in the neck, with images released by the District Court of NSW revealing the blade snapped at some point during the attack.

The woman told the NSW District Court she could have died during the attack, choosing to read out a victim impact statement in court to be a voice “for those who no longer have one”.

“I survived but I was very close to not being here ,” the woman told the court on Friday.

“What took seconds became a fight for my life. I am here today because people stepped in and because I refused to give up.”

She said the “warning signs” should have been enough, telling the court “action must come before violence, not after”.

“Not every woman survives. Today is not just about what was done to me, it’s about recognising the seriousness of this kind of behaviour and ensuring it is not minimised,” she said.

“Because when violence like this is reduced, excused, or overlooked, it creates a space for it to happen again.

“I stand here not only for myself but for … those who never got the chance to stand here at all.”

Monteleone was on Friday sentenced to 13 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of eight years and seven months.

Man’s ‘utterly delusional’ hope after break up: court

Monteleone had dated the woman for about two months, telling the woman “I’m in love with you, I fell for you instantly” in March, according to transcripts of voice messages released by the court.

“I just want to cry…with happiness and joy,” the woman had replied.

But things took a turn when she broke up with him after she saw messages on his phone to other women despite their agreement to see each other exclusively.

He became possessive following the break up, Judge Alister Abadee told the court on Friday, prompting the woman to take out an apprehended violence order (AVO) against him in the weeks before he stabbed her.

Monteleone continued to call and text her repeatedly, with the woman at one point calling triple-0 as he had followed her home one day.

“He continued to hold out the hope...that he may be able to patch things up,” Judge Abadee told the court on Friday.

“In this, he was utterly delusional.”

His mindset “took a darker turn” in the days before the attack, with Judge Abadee finding he intended to kill the woman at least by the morning of the stabbing despite Monteleone’s lawyers claiming the intent to murder was spontaneous.

Judge Abadee found Monteleone likely would have killed the woman if not for two brave bystanders who rushed to her aid, after the man’s lawyers tried to argue the offending was “less serious” because Monteleone had stopped after about 25 seconds of stabbing.

Judge Abadee agreed with the prosecution that Monteleone had only stopped the attack as a result of his “own self-interest” when the bystanders stepped in, and not out of concern for the woman.

“My submission is that if those men weren’t there it is likely (the woman) would be dead,” the prosecutor said of the “ferocious and terrifying” attack.

He added the fact that the attack unfolded over just 25 seconds should have no bearing on the gravity of the attack.

“It doesn’t take long to pull a trigger, and it certainly doesn’t take long to kill someone with a knife,” he said.

Judge Abadee accepted Monteleone suffered from an adjustment disorder at the time of the stabbing but found it did not significantly reduce his moral culpability.

The court was also told the woman was not the first to take action against Monteleone, as he was convicted for stalking and intimidating another woman years before the stabbing.

Chilling footage after man stabs ex in neck

Monteleone handed himself in to police the morning after he stabbed the woman, telling officers he had “just lashed out” but “never intended to do what I did”.

“I had the knife in my hand and I just lashed out at her,” Monteleone told police in a recorded interview released by the court.

“(I) injured her around the neck … was all too fast, I don’t even know where else.”

Monteleone was unable to recall how many times he stabbed her.

“I got some around the neck, I didn’t know, it went so fast,” he said.

Monteleone, his hand wrapped in a paper bag as he sat in the police station, told officers he had driven around Sydney following the attack before dumping his car at a park, torching it, and walking home where he threw his clothes in the laundry and had a shower.

The next morning he visited his parents and apologised to them before he turned himself in.

“I really wanted to have a shower … and just thaw myself out … I thought, you know, what you need (is) a good night’s sleep,” he said.

“I really wanted to speak to my folks and apologise for everything that had happened.”

Monteleone was found guilty of one cause wounding/grievous bodily harm with intent to murder (domestic violence) earlier this year following a jury trial.

He will be eligible for release on parole in December 2033.

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