‘Australian Survivor’ contestant Joel Betts jailed for attempted murder

GlobalPost

Joel Betts, a former contestant on "Australian Survivor," has been sentenced to 11 years' jail for the attempted murder of his girlfriend.

Betts, 32, pleaded guilty to stabbing Samantha Holland more than two dozen times and holding her hostage in their apartment in Sydney's inner-west in April 2010, reported The Daily Telegraph.

Holland, 25, who survived the attack by convincing Betts to give her the knife so they could "die together," had reportedly gone to the apartment they'd shared to collect her possessions after their relationship break-up.

She jumped off the balcony of the third floor apartment to escape him, despite having been repeatedly in the back and neck in the April 17, 2010, attack, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

She even testified at Betts' trial, telling how he tried to stop her from leaving the apartment unit.

More from GlobalPost: Greek TV anchor pelted with eggs and, yes, yogurt (VIDEO)

"I'm still haunted by the look in his eyes as he towered over me and stabbed me in the neck," she said.

After his appearance on "Survivor," Betts had become a socialite in Sydney and a presenter on the Murdoch-owned Foxtel channel.

Judge Robert Toner described his crime as "vile" and said Holland would have to live with the "psychological trauma" of what happened to her.

"[The attack] must have felt like an eternity to her, beyond anything she could have ever imagined," he said.

More from GlobalPost: Germany: Rare rabbit without ears accidentally killed by TV cameraman

Will you support The World today?

The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!