"Monster" sentenced to 18 years, 8 months for attemped stabbing murder of wife

A man who stabbed his wife 63 times in front of their two children was sentenced to 18 2/3 years of imprisonment yesterday, February 28, 2011. 29 year old Brian Rolstad plead guilty to single counts of attempted murder causing great bodily injury, felony spousal abuse and two counts of felony child endangerment. The attack on his wife, Rachel, happened last spring at their Chula Vista, CA home. At sentencing yesterday, Rachel described as she drifted in and out of consciousness and saw fear on her sons' faces as their father attacked their mother.

The assault at the home in the 1300 block of Granite Springs Drive was reported shortly before 8 p.m. last June 14, according to Chula Vista police. A motive was not disclosed.

Officers arrived to find the assailant gone and the victim suffering from multiple stab wounds, most of them to her upper body. Rolstad was found about 7 the next morning, sitting in his car near Chula Vista Police Department headquarters.

"The torture was excruciating, horrifying and ruthless. I could feel each stab as it entered into and out of my body. He stabbed me over and over and all I could do is curl up in a fetal position to protect my heart while begging and hoping he would stop...You only care about yourself. Look how you washed yourself, changed your clothes and made sure you were nice and clean but left our kids crying, with blood smeared on their poor little faces, traumatized… while you left to go hide...When I see you, I see a monster."

To Superior Court Judge Esteban Hernandez, Rachel said that  "Brian Rolstad is a cold-hearted, senseless human being… I see an angry man with no remorse… a vicious criminal who I believe will take revenge after his release. If he tried to kill me once, who's to say he won't try it again...He's not crazy but I'm afraid he will come back to get me when he’s released."

The perpetrator was ordered to get mental health treatment while incarcerated, something that may take place at one of California's state hospitals.