A man who allegedly told his wife of 20 years he would kill her before he gave her anything in their separation will stand trial for her murder.
Fernando Manuel Paulino, 53, pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering of Teresa Mancuso, 49, who was found stabbed to death in her Reservoir home in July 2013.
Paulino and Ms Mancuso separated in 2010 and began court proceedings over property after a long marriage punctuated by regular heated arguments, a committal hearing before the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard.
Ms Mancuso's sister, Francesca Mancuso, told the court Ms Mancuso thought Paulino would kill her.
He allegedly said: "You're not getting anything I worked for".
"I'll kill you before I give you anything."
Luke said it became more common after their separation, his father once remarking to him: "One day, if she keeps going, I'm going to kill her".The couple's adult sons Daniel and Luke Paulino said they had heard their father threaten to kill their mother.
Daniel, the eldest, said he had heard threats many times.
He remembered Paulino getting angry about one week before Ms Mancuso's death, as people inspected their family home, the court heard.
"He would get angry saying, 'Your s*** of a mum has done this, she's destroyed us'," Daniel told the court.
He also said he knew his father loved his mother a lot.
Ms Mancuso was found dead three years after she separated from Paulino.
Paulino was committed to stand trial and will face the Victorian Supreme Court for a directions hearing on Thursday.
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