West Coast butcher Peter Lamont has admitted the murder of his wife Lindsay whom he stabbed 26 times at their home in July last year.
Lamont told police he had "snapped" during an argument with his wife, Lindsay Jane Lamont, in their home at Ikamatua, 54km north of Greymouth, on July 5.
He turned himself in to the Greymouth police the next day and told them "a veil had descended over him", crown prosecutor Lisa Preston told the High Court at Christchurch after Lamont's guilty plea today.
Justice Christine French remanded Lamont in custody for sentence in Greymouth on December 16 at 10.30am and ordered a pre-sentence report.
Counsel for Lamont, Doug Taffs, said that psychiatric reports prepared for the murder trial would be made available to the judge for the sentencing.
He also said the defence would be seeking less than the 17-year minimum non-parole term for Lamont.
Mrs Preston told the court that Lamont, now aged 48, had emigrated from Scotland with his wife in 2005.
He initially worked as a butcher but then bought and ran the Blackball Salami Company at Blackball, 22km northeast of Greymouth.
The couple were drinking at the hotel in Ikamatua on the evening of July 4.
Mrs Lamont wanted to leave but her husband wanted to stay and finish his drink. She left on her own and Lamont followed about 10 minutes later.
Their daughter was staying in Greymouth that night.
The couple began arguing about money and the business. Mrs Lamont worked at a local medical practice but also did the books for the salami company.
Lamont was preparing food while they argued and he suddenly stabbed his wife with the kitchen knife.
He inflicted 26 knife wounds on her head and neck area, using three knives. After the attack began, she fell to the floor bleeding heavily and the remaining wounds were inflicted there.
Lamont broke two knives and the blade fragments remained in his wife's body, and the third knife blade was bent.
Mrs Lamont died of torrential internal and external blood loss from multiple wounds to the head and neck.
Lamont then went to the garage and attempted to kill himself but he only fell asleep.
He woke in the morning and saw his wife dead.
He then drove to a supermarket in Greymouth where he bought beer and an apparatus with the intention of using it to commit suicide. He then had breakfast at McDonalds.
He went to his business in Blackball where he drank beer and left a note saying, "Sorry Lindsay" and asking someone to look after the girls.
He then tried to commit suicide in the chiller room but failed and decided to hand himself in to the police.
He arranged for his daughter to meet him at the Greymouth Police Station.
He told his daughter, "I have killed your mum," before he told police at the front counter what he had done.
Mrs Preston said he was completely co-operative with the police, and said he had snapped when he stabbed her and a veil had descended over him.
He has no previous convictions.
NZPA