A TWISTED Brit who callously stabbed his partner to death nine times claimed he acted after she accused him of having an affair.
Michael Whitbread, 75, brutally murdered Michele Faiers, 66, at their home in Italy and has now been sentenced to 25 years in jail.
FacebookMichele Faiers, 66, a mum of three, was brutally murdered by her partner Michael Whitbread in October 2023[/caption]
Throughout the trial, Whitbread has tried to blame the victim for the brutal crimeFacebook
GoogleThe couple relocated from the UK to their home in a rural town in central Italy in 2015[/caption]
The mum-of-three was stabbed eight times in the back and once in the chest in late October, 2023. Several days later, her friend found her body at the couple’s home in Verratti, central Abruzzo, lying in a pool of blood and covered by a white sheet.
Whitbread, an IT worker from Torquay, Devon, fled the scene after the killing, driving 1,259 miles across Italy, Switzerland and France before reaching his daughter’s home in the UK.
He was arrested in Shepshed, near Loughborough, on suspicion of murder and remained in custody as the trial continued in Italy.
At his sentencing at Lanciano court, Whitbread asked for forgiveness from Faiers’ three daughters, Sarah, Brooke and Harriet – before sickeningly blaming his actions on her.
He said: “Michele, I will miss you for the rest of my life, I love you and I am sorry.
“I am sorry for your death and for the pain I have caused your family. I always only loved you, but she accused me of having an affair with another English woman, which was not true, how would you have reacted?
“I don’t know what happened, only a few days earlier we were talking about planting pear trees together.”
While prosecutor Mirvana Di Serio had called for a life sentence, the court sentenced him to 25 years and ordered him to pay 100,000 Euros in compensation to the three women.
Ms Di Serio told the court: “He killed her by stabbing her nine times, that was his intent.
“She tried to defend herself and the defendant was capable and knew what he was doing.
“He was lucid, he washed himself after the murder, got dressed and fled in his car.”
At the start of Whitbread’s trial in January, he expressed regret both to the court and in a letter addressed to Faiers’ family.
However, he also blamed his partner’s “obsessive jealousy” for her murder and claimed she had beaten him.
Testimony from Faiers’ close friend, Petrina Keay – the person who found her lifeless body in late October – suggests that Whitbread had in fact attacked her in the weeks leading up to her death.
The couple reportedly had a furious row, with Whitbread leaving her “covered in bruises” and “fearing for her life”, Keay said.
Following the argument, Faiers stayed at Keay’s home for a week.
The prosecution file also reveals she confided in her friend about her concerns over her partner’s fidelity.
After the sentencing, Faiers’ family lawyer, Nadia Germana Tascona, said: “The sentence from the Court has been respectfully accepted but clearly the family are having difficulty understanding the punishment.
“For them the loss of their mother was very upsetting and the fact that he continued to repeat it was her fault was also not acceptable, we did not appreciate he kept insisting he was the victim in all this.”
The former diving instructor claimed he killed Faiers after she accused him of being unfaithful