EVERETT — A Marysville man can expect to spend up to a dozen years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to stabbing his estranged wife nearly 20 times when he learned she planned to end their marriage.

Nathan Robert Bradford, 45, pleaded guilty to domestic-violence first-degree assault. Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Marybeth Dingledy scheduled sentencing for Feb. 1.

Bradford made clear he understands the consequences of his admission that he nearly killed the woman. He faces a prison term ranging from just under a decade to 12 years under state sentencing guidelines.

In court papers, Bradford admitted he attacked his wife with a knife Oct. 28.

Documents show the violence came after he found divorce papers while going through her car. At first he left the scene, saying that he wished the woman, 30, would “die in a fiery crash.”

Later, he returned with a knife and stabbed her repeatedly. She awoke bleeding in the backseat of a car. He was driving her to an Everett hospital.

Surveillance video recorded Bradford abandoning the woman, who was then near death, and driving away. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with a Superman logo, according to court papers.

He later was found in Whatcom County, about 40 miles north, parked in an SUV along Chuckanut Drive. He apparently had attempted suicide by running a tube from the exhaust pipe and into the car.

Bradford has remained locked up at the county jail in Everett since his arrest.

Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.