British man, 75, stabs partner seven times in back in their holiday home in Italy 'after she called him a cheat'

Michael Whitbread, 75, confessed to the chilling crime at their secluded cottage in rural Italy. He tried to blame his partner’s accusations for the gruesome killing.

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.

She had been stabbed multiple times in the back, and her body was discovered lying in a pool of blood, covered with a white sheet. 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. The couple had moved to Italy in 2015 after selling their scuba diving school in Torquay.

Whitbread told the 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.

Whitbread, who denied the accusations, claimed the ongoing rows turned violent. The family lawyer, Nadia Germana Tascona, acknowledged Whitbread’s confession but rejected his claims of provocation.

Michele's brother, Norman, 73, dismissed Whitbread’s claims as an attempt to shift blame. He said: “He is obviously trying to paint my sister as some kind of banshee, but that isn’t true. She was a mother, a grandmother, a vibrant woman. And he was a weak, weak man. There is no excuse for what he did. It was violent, it was murder.”

Michele's three daughters attended the hearing, holding each other as Whitbread described the killing. The presiding judge has ordered a psychological study of Whitbread as the trial continues.