A former Iraqi soldier lured his wife to a shed at the back of their Wellington house and stabbed her about 55 times before trying to kill himself, a court has been told.

Najeeb Dawood Dawood, 52, earlier pleaded guilty to murdering his wife Eman Jani Hurmiz, 41, at their Strathmore home last September and to wounding his daughter.

In the High Court in Wellington on Monday, he admitted three charges from an earlier incident in November 2010 of assaulting one of their children, threatening to kill his wife and having an offensive weapon in circumstances showing an intent to commit violence, Fairfax reported.

The court heard that Dawood struggled with the freedom women had in New Zealand society and that he was suspicious and jealous of his wife.

After enticing his wife to a shed at their Strathmore property he bound her and then attacked her with a kitchen knife.

The couple's pregnant 21-year-old daughter smashed the shed window and tried to save her mother but was forced to retreat.

Neighbours and members of the public, who had heard screams, arrived and kicked the door down.