A former Iraqi soldier has pleaded guilty to murdering his wife at their Wellington home in September 2011.

Najeeb Dawood, 52, appeared at the High Court at Wellington Monday and pleaded guilty to the charge of murdering Eman Hurmiz, 41.

Hurmiz died from multiple stab wounds in the driveway of her suburban Strathmore home in Wellington on September 2 last year.

Dawood also pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to commit murder in relation to his attacking his daughter Abeer Najib Dawood on the same day.

Dawood had an interpreter beside him but he did not wait for the charge to be translated into Arabic before he said "guilty" to the charges against him, Fairfax NZ News reported.

In its news a day after the murder, Fairfax reported Dawood was in a critical condition due to multiple injuries sustained in the scene. His condition had since improved.

A family member of Dawood had earlier said he suffered a bullet wound to the head during service for Iraq and it resulted in "mental issues."

"Back in Iraq he was shot in the head while he was in the army. He still had that thing in his head and he couldn't control himself when he gets angry," the family member told Fairfax.

Dawood's pleas were followed by two psychiatric assessments, the results of which showed he was mentally fit.

Justice Warwick Gendall remanded Dawood in custody until May 14, the day of his next High Court appearance.

Dawood is yet to enter a plea on charges relating to an incident in November 2010, when he was charged with threatening to kill, possession of a weapon and assault on a child.