A 75-year-old British man has confessed to stabbing his partner to death in Italy, telling a court he acted in panic after months of accusations of infidelity. Michael Whitbread admitted killing fellow Briton Michele Faiers, 66, in October 2023 at their home in Verratti, a remote village in Abruzzo.
Whitbread, a former diving instructor from Torquay, told the court in Lanciano that Faiers had accused him of having an affair after seeing him pat a woman's bottom at a party in 2022. He denied cheating but said the couple had violent arguments about the incident. On the night of the killing, he claimed Faiers woke him, hit him, and said she wished he were dead.
He said he handed her a knife and told her to kill him, but she kicked him and tried to push him down the stairs. 'That is when I grabbed the knife in panic,' he said. Faiers was found with seven stab wounds to the back. Whitbread fled to the UK but was extradited after his daughter alerted police.
Faiers's three adult daughters attended the hearing. Their lawyer, Nadia Germanà Tascona, said the confession was important for them as 'a way to begin again.' The trial continues, with a psychological assessment of Whitbread ordered by the judge.
