A man has been charged with murder over the horrific death of his estranged wife in Queensland after she was stabbed to death in front of her children.

Nigel Gilliland was to face the Rockhampton Magistrates Court on Thursday over the savage attack on 42-year-old nurse Karen Gilliland outside her home on Tuesday.

Two of Ms Gilliland’s three children watched her die.

Emergency crews fought to save her but she was too badly injured.

Mr Gilliland, 45, has been charged with her murder (domestic violence offence) and enter with intent.

He was arrested a couple of hours after allegedly fleeing Ms Gilliland’s home in the Rockhampton suburb of The Range. They had been living apart.

He has had surgery for self-inflicted wounds in the same hospital where Ms Gilliland worked.

Police said the crime scene was among the worst they’ve seen, and Ms Gilliland’s children have been left to carry the images of their mother’s brutal slaying.

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-AAP