Italian vet who stabbed his veterinary nurse girlfriend to death when she dumped him is found guilty of murder

An Italian vet who had inferiority issues because of his small manhood has been found guilty of murder after he went to a mother-of-two's flat with flowers and a card to try to save their relationship – before stabbing her to death when she rejected him.

Dr. Alberto Fioletti, 31, stabbed Stephanie Hodgkinson, 34, six times in the chest and once in the back when she told him they had no future together.

Fioletti, a narcissist who the court heard slept with many women to 'validate' himself, then turned the knife on himself, wounding his stomach, before calling 999. He told the operator, “I killed my girlfriend.”

Just days before the incident, he told his partner: 'I hope you are happy with yourself…you will face death.'

Police and paramedics arrived at the flat in Alum Chine, Bournemouth, Dorset, and found Stephanie on the floor next to the breakfast bar in her kitchen.

Dr. Alberto Fioletti, 31, (pictured) arrived at his girlfriend's house with flowers and a card in an attempt to reconcile their relationship

Her injuries were 'unsurvivable', with severe injuries to her heart, lungs and major blood vessels causing catastrophic bleeding.

Fioletti was arrested for murder and taken to hospital for treatment of his wounds.

He admitted a charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but he denied murder.

But after a three-week trial at Bournemouth Crown Court, a jury today found him guilty.

The trial heard how he developed narcissistic personality disorder and had slept with many women to 'validate' himself as he had inferiority issues due to his 'small penis'.

He manipulated previous girlfriends by threatening to commit suicide to gain sympathy.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard that Stephanie, a divorced mother of two, met Fioletti through a dating website and they had been dating since October 2022.

He had met her children, she had traveled to Italy to meet his parents and they were planning to buy a house together.

Although they both worked in veterinary practices, their workplaces only overlapped for a month when Fioletti worked at Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists in Ringwood, Hampshire, in January this year.

He was working at the Medivet clinic at the time of the murder and she had quit her job to study art philosophy.

Steven Perian KC, prosecuting, said he and Stephenie had had a heated argument on May 5 this year when she kicked him out of her home.

Before he left he told her, “I hope you're happy with yourself.” Death awaits you now.'

They agreed to meet on May 12.

Stephanie had told her sister she wanted to meet him in a public place to tell him she didn't see a future together.

The court heard that the day before the hearing, Fioletti texted his Italian doctor saying: “If I have to lose her for good tomorrow night, this time I will have to end it once and for all.”

Stephanie Hodgkinson, 34, (pictured) was stabbed six times in the chest and once in the back with a kitchen knife

Stephanie was in her kitchen chopping vegetables when Fioletti arrived.

Mr Perian said: “This tragedy is unfolding as a murder of an intimate partner, sparked by Stephanie Hodgkinson's courageous decision to end their relationship.

'She wasn't prepared to be manipulated by him. The defendant's profound inability to come to terms with her rejection culminated in his brutal, brutal attack, marked by seven merciless and devastating stab wounds.

'Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, Stephanie could not be saved as she succumbed to the serious injuries she suffered from the brutal bleeding.

'He was interviewed. He admitted punching Stephanie Hodgkinson in the face. He said he was completely out of control. The reason for his loss of control was the breakdown of the relationship with Stephanie Hodgkinson.'

Fioletti will be sentenced for murder on January 15.