A man has admitted repeatedly stabbing and slashing at his estranged wife’s throat during an attack lasting more than seven minutes at a Mt Roskill McDonald’s amid an acrimonious divorce.   

Mitesh Kumar told police after the frenzied and prolonged knife attack at the Stoddard Rd fast food outlet that he wanted to kill his wife and go to jail so all their money would go to their children. 

He did not succeed. 

The woman suffered wounds to her neck, throat, chest, ears and head, plus several defensive wounds to arms and hands. 

She was rushed to hospital after the attack on the evening of January 11 for extensive urgent surgery and survived. 

Kumar initially pleaded not guilty following his arrest and was headed to trial until this week. 

On Wednesday he pleaded guilty to attempting to murder his estranged wife, and two charges of failing to assist police in a computer search. 

Court documents released to the Herald state Kumar and the victim had been married for 18 years before they separated in February 2023. 

They have two children together and were in the process of working through their divorce and settlement arrangements when they agreed to meet at the Mt Roskill McDonald’s. 

The summary of facts admitted by Kumar said the victim had not seen their children in four months. 

Mitesh Kumar's attack on his wife only ended after police arrived at the scene a little over seven minutes after he first lunged at her with a utility knife. Photo / Hayden Woodward 

He had arranged the meeting with the promise he would bring their children. He arrived first, and shortly before 8pm received a call from the woman saying she was approaching the McDonald’s and wanted to know why her kids weren’t there. 

Kumar told her they were across the road waiting and convinced her to come inside. He was waiting at a table with a drink and a utility knife hidden in his pocket. 

The woman arrived, entered the restaurant and sat down opposite him at the table. 

Kumar asked her about accepting a lower divorce settlement offer but she said she did not want to talk about it. 

He then showed her an intimate photo he had of her on his phone and threatened to share it if she did not agree to the settlement. 

The woman told him she was leaving and stood up. 

“The defendant stood up with her, removed the knife from under his leg, lunged forward at the complainant, grabbed her with his left hand and used his right thumb to extend the blade of the knife,” the summary of facts states. 

He then slashed the knife across her throat three times and pushed her over a table. 

Kumar stood over her, grabbed her hair and continued to slash at her. 

Staff and customers pleaded with him to stop. He threatened them with the knife and said “don’t stop me, just stay away”. 

Despite witnesses trying to stop the attack, he continued cutting the woman’s head and body as she huddled in a corner, trying to protect herself with her hands and arms. 

As he continued to slash at the woman, he told her in Gujarati “you’ve wrecked my life” and “you’ve lost my kids”. 

The attack continued and Kumar paused several times to take a breath and due to what court documents describe as “mechanical failure” with the utility knife. 

At one point he paused to remove a new blade from the container at the base of the knife. 

Eventually a member of the public intervened with a chair after he had once again repeatedly slashed at the woman’s neck. 

Kumar’s attack only stopped entirely when police arrived, seven minutes and 44 seconds after he had first lunged at her. 

He was taken to the Auckland City Police Station, where he told police the victim was asking for too much money in the divorce, and “if she dies, and I go to jail, everything goes to the kids. That is the motive”. 

Kumar was also charged with failing to carry out in his obligations in relation to a search because he would not give police the access codes to two of his phones. 

He will appear for sentence in the Auckland High Court on November 5, facing a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.