King County prosecutors plan to seek an exceptional sentence against a Seattle man who fatally stabbed his estranged wife to death with a barbecue fork in front of their two young children, ages 4 and 5, last year.

Juan Carlos Bonilla stabbed Debra Bonilla, 38, at least a dozen times in April 2008 at her South Seattle home. Moments after the attack, the couple's 5-year-old son ran toward their downstairs neighbor, screaming, "Come and check on mommy ... daddy stabbed mommy," according to charging papers filed in King County Superior Court.

Bonilla, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree domestic-violence murder on July 2. Debra Bonilla had been granted a domestic violence protection order -- barring her husband from coming near her and her children -- before she was killed, according to court charging documents. Bonilla also had prior convictions in Alaska, Minnesota and Seattle related to domestic-violence incidents involving his wife.

Prosecutors said they will ask Superior Court Judge Michael J. Fox to sentence Bonilla to 25 years in prison on Aug. 20. Under the standard sentencing range, Bonilla faces between about 13 and 21 years in prison.

Dan Donohoe, spokesman for King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, said that an exceptional sentence is being sought because of Bonilla's extensive domestic violence history and because the crime occurred before the children.

Bonilla's attorneys are seeking a 16-year prison sentence, according to plea paperwork.

On April 18, 2008, police were called to Debra Bonilla's home in the 1800 block of South State Street after a neighbor found the injured woman on the ground with a 13-inch barbecue fork nearby, court papers said. The semi-conscious woman told officers that she was attacked by her estranged husband.

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Police found Bonilla hiding in a sticker bush a few blocks from his wife's home. Debra Bonilla died at Harborview Medical Center that night.

Debra Bonilla had earlier told a neighbor that she was afraid her estranged husband would return to hurt her, no matter if there was a domestic violence protection order in place.