Stabbed Australian husband thought he had the perfect marriage

Sep 20, 2011, 10:32 GMT

Sydney - An Australian millionaire lucky to be alive after having his throat slashed by his wife's secret lover told a Melbourne court Tuesday that he had believed he had the perfect marriage.

Chris Soteriou, attacked while he walked arm-in-arm with wife after a romantic 44th-birthday dinner in a swank restaurant, said he thought he had the perfect life until he woke up in hospital in January 2010.

He was told by police that Ari Dimitrakis, jailed for 7 years over the attack last year, was having a torrid affair with his wife and that they had together planned his murder.

'We had no issues. We were very happy,' Soteriou was quoted by news agency AAP as telling the court.

He said that only hours before the attempted murder, his wife had given him a birthday card that read: 'Thank you for loving me so much. Your wife, who adores you.'

Vicky Soteriou, who is on trial for plotting to kill her husband, has pleaded not guilty.

In an earlier hearing, the court was told she had a secret tattoo of Dimitrakis' name underneath her wedding ring and that he had her name tattooed on his groin.

The pair were lovers before her marriage to a man who bestowed gifts on her, including a Mercedes-Benz car for her birthday.