A real estate executive who stabbed a friend’s wife close to her heart in a horrific attack has learnt his fate in court.
Matthew Brian Ramsay, 48, confessed to stabbing the woman in the chest with a 25cm kitchen knife in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on the afternoon of August 8, 2022.
Ramsay had been charged with wounding with intent to murder, but that was withdrawn in a plea deal where he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
At the NSW District Court on Friday, Judge David Barrow sentenced Ramsay to a jail term of six years and eight months, while his victim said she wished he had been given a longer sentence.
A non-parole period of three years and eight months was set, meaning with time already served, Ramsay could be released in October 2026.
The incident marks a fall from grace for the high-flying real estate executive who brokered sales worth tens of millions of dollars.
The court heard that Ramsay suffers from treatment-resistant addictions to prescription drugs and alcohol, and was probably in a prescription drug-induced delirium on the day he stabbed the woman in her exclusive home.
He had taken a cocktail of psychoactive drugs and sedatives at the direction of doctors in the days before the incident, while staying at The Sydney Clinic rehabilitation centre, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Real estate executive Matthew Ramsay (pictured), who stabbed a friend’s wife close to her heart in a horrific attack, has learnt his fate in court
Ramsay left the clinic on the morning of the crime, went to his own house, which was close by, got a kitchen knife and drove to the woman’s home in Dover Heights, 8km east of Sydney’s CBD.
Ramsay was a friend of the victim’s husband and she was aware of his addictions, so she was not concerned for her safety when he knocked on the door.
But as soon as Ramsay went into the house, his mood changed, she told the police.
He looked at her with an intense expression on his face, said ‘sorry’, then pulled the knife out of his jacket and stabbed her on the left side of her chest, near her heart, the court heard.
The woman fought back and Ramsay tried to stab her again before she ran out the front door.
He then jumped on her back and put his hand over her mouth to try to stop her screaming, but tradies working nearby heard her screams and rushed to help.
They distracted Ramsay and the victim was able to go back inside the house and call the police.
She was later taken to hospital and got stitches for a 3cm wound to her chest and was discharged the next day.
Ramsay left the scene, but was arrested a short time later on Campbell Parade in Bondi Beach.
He was initially remanded in custody, but was later given bail to live in and get treatment at a rehab centre.
However, he breached his bail and was taken back into custody, the court heard.
Medical reports revealed Ramsay had been a chronic alcoholic for his entire adult life, and that he had an alcohol-related brain injury due to this.
He was prescribed antipsychotics and sedatives, including Baclofen, Valium and Stilnox, in very large doses in a bid to control his alcoholism, the court heard.
His use of these drugs, and his effort to quit another drug, probably put him in a state of delirium at the time of his crime, Judge Barrow heard.
The judge said Ramsay’s state on the day significantly reduced his moral culpability and he found he was remorseful for his crime.
Judge Barrow said Ramsay had written to the victim saying he was sorry and that he was sober in jail and wanted to get ‘back to the person I used to be’.
Ramsay (pictured left) was arrested a short time later on Campbell Parade in Bondi Beach
When he is released, Ramsay plans to live with his cousin and work for his brother, the court heard.
His victim, who has a scar above her heart, said she wished Ramsay had been given a longer sentence.
‘I just really wanted a few more years up my sleeve before he was out of jail,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘This offender has taken away my sense of safety.’
