A man who stabbed and threatened to kill a love rival was this morning spared jail by the Supreme Court.Irving Butterfield, 39, of Sleepy Hollow Drive, Hamilton Parish, has admitted unlawfully wounding and threatening his workmate and friend of 20 years, Damian Forbes.The attack occurred in the early hours of February 4, after he spotted Mr Forbes kissing his estranged wife in the home they had once shared.Crown counsel Nicole Smith said Butterfield flew into a “jealous rage”, burst into the house, threatened to kill Mr Forbes, and grappled with him while wielding a kitchen knife.Mr Forbes received a deep laceration to his hand before escaping. Butterfield then broke the oven door in the kitchen and punched the microwave oven, while continually threatening to kill the complainant.He said to police when arrested: “How would you feel if you caught a man kissing your wife? I'm going to kill him by the end of the week.”Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said Butterfield's wife and mother of his two children, Christiana Kempe, had “not just rubbed salt in the wounds but soaked him in brine” for asking her former husband to leave the house while openly spending the evening with Mr Forbes.Butterfield learned on February 3 that Mr Forbes would be watching the Superbowl with his estranged wife that evening.He expressed his anger to her about the situation, and she asked him to leave.Saying he recognised his views were controversial, Mr Justice Greaves derided the notion that Butterfield should be wholly responsible.“Let's be frank and fair, and call things as they are,” he said, maintaining Butterfield had been provoked.“Three people did foolishness in this case. That's the point. The wife acted badly. The man who went in the house acted badly. This defendant acted badly.”Mr Justice Greaves said Butterfield had been treated like “a mouse” by Ms Kempe.Ms Smith responded: “He was the author of the situation. Had he not been there, this would not have happened.”Mr Justice Greaves conceded his views might “set the blogs on fire” but pointed out that the Crown had accepted Butterfield's lesser plea of unlawful wounding precisely because of the element of provocation.Butterfield was originally charged with wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.Defence lawyer Marc Daniels said the injuries inflicted on Mr Forbes — defensive wounds — had not been intentional.Mr Justice Greaves stressed he condoned none of the defendant's behaviour but imposed a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, because of the circumstances.A sentence of three months' imprisonment, suspended six months, was added for threatening words.