Brit man stabbed partner 7 times in the back ‘after she called him a cheat’ in vicious killing at Italian home
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A BRIT who admitted to stabbing his partner seven times in the back has after she claimed him a "cheat". Michael Whitbread, 75, confessed to the chilling crime at their secluded cottage in rural Italy, tried to blame his partner’s accusations for the gruesome killing.
![[A couple sitting together outdoors at night.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cops-say-its-matter-time-856720185-1.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The horror killing of Michele Faiers, 66, unfolded in October 2023 at their home in Verratti, in the central region of Abruzzo. Her body was found by a concerned friend, who alerted authorities after not hearing from her for several days. The grandmother had been stabbed multiple times in the back, and her body was discovered lying in a pool of blood, covered with a white sheet.
![[A smiling woman holds a glass of wine.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cops-say-its-matter-time-856720179-1.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
Whitbread fled the scene after the killing, reportedly driving 1,259 miles through Switzerland and France before arriving at his daughter’s home in the UK. He was arrested in Shepshed, Leicestershire, on suspicion of murder and remained in custody as the trial continued in Italy.
![[A white house in Italy where a British grandmother was murdered.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cops-say-its-matter-time-856724382-3.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Whitbread, who had moved to Italy with Michele in 2015 after selling their scuba diving school in Torquay, claimed in court that he was driven to violence after months of accusations that he had an affair. The former diving instructor said Michele accused him of having an affair after she allegedly saw him patting another woman’s bottom at a New Year’s Eve party in 2022.
![[A man in scuba gear partially submerged in water.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/3a433962-128b-4172-b316-63d3064201c6.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Whitbread, who denied the accusations, claimed the ongoing rows turned violent. “It was an odd clip round the head, then it got worse,” he told the court. Whitbread however has been accused by another witness of being abusive to Michele - with a friend revealing he once allegedly left her covered in bruises after a row.
![[Michele Faiers and Michael Whitbread in the mountains.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/72092cd1-8869-4a3e-a8cd-08cbb3442c70-1.jpg?strip=all&w=708)
