The man accused of slitting his ex-girlfriend’s throat at Turlock’s Donnelly Park has been sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison for the attack.

Daniel Lee Rigney, 52, entered a no contest plea Thursday in Stanislaus County Superior Court to a charge of attempted murder with an enhancement of causing great bodily injury and a charge of making criminal threats, according to court records.

As part of his plea deal, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office dropped a felony charge of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.

The charges against Rigney stemmed from an attack on the evening of  July 29 at Donnelly Park. Rigney and his 50-year-old ex-girlfriend had agreed to meet at the park to exchange items after the end of their relationship.

Rigney grabbed the woman and allegedly told her he was going to kill her as he slid his knife across her throat, according to the Turlock Police Department.

The woman’s screams alerted several people to the attack and multiple individuals rushed to her aid. They held Rigney on the ground until officers arrived.

The woman sustained serious, but non-life threatening injuries from the attack, according to the police report.