British IT consultant, 74, who 'stabbed his partner seven times in the back' in idyllic Italian home after 'she discovered he was having an affair' is extradited to face murder charge

A British man accused of stabbing his partner seven times in the back after she learnt he was having an affair has been extradited to Italy to face a murder charge.

IT consultant Michael Whitbread, 74, was held by police after driving across Europe following the fatal stabbing of Michele Faiers, a 66-year-old mother-of-three.

She was found dressed only in her underwear in a pool of blood at the idyllic home she shared with Whitbread in the Italian hilltop village of Verratti last October.

MailOnline can exclusively reveal he was flown back to Rome last Friday - arriving on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow before being handed over to Italian authorities and transferred to the city's Rebibbia jail.

The medium-security prison on the outskirts of Rome holds more than 1,000 inmates and is home to mafia gangsters, murderers, drug dealers and terrorists.

Michael Whitbread, right, was arrested in England on suspicion of murder after Michele Faiers, left, was found dead at her home near the Italian town of Casoli

 IT consultant Whitbread, 74, has been extradited over the alleged murder of his partner

Michele Faiers, 66, was found lying on her first-floor bedroom in a pool of blood by her friend inside her rural home (pictured) in a village near eastern Italian town Casoli

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline after visiting him in prison, his lawyer Massimiliano Sichetti, said: 'This was the first time I had seen him and I found him tired and worn out, but at the same time surprisingly lucid.

'He said that being in jail in Britain had not been easy, but he said he wasn't badly treated and now he was looking forward to getting the chance to defend himself in an Italian court.

'He is looking forward to having his say and telling the truth about what happened and for that reason he didn't appeal the decision to extradite him to Italy.

'He has told me that he wasn't fleeing Italy and wants to explain exactly what happened in court – he has told me that he had a return ticket and that he was not running away.

'He said that he will be able to fully explain everything in a journal that he has kept with all the details, and he will get his chance to say his version in court.'

Prosecution documents exclusively obtained by MailOnline reveal Whitbread had been having an affair with another British expat and that his partner had said she was leaving him and moving back to the UK.

He appeared before Westminster magistrates earlier this month for a full extradition hearing.

Ms Faiers' three daughters wept as they heard allegations Whitbread had stabbed their helpless mother in the back seven times at their home in Verratti, near the eastern Italian town of Casoli.

Whitebread, originally from Torquay in Devon, was dressed in a red shirt, black trousers and jacket and said nothing other than to confirm his name to the judge David Robinson.

According to Italian prosecution documents, Ms Faiers had been sleeping at a friend's house after suspecting him of having an affair.

They papers also describe how Whitbread had attacked her a month before the murder and left her 'covered in bruises' and 'fearing for her life'.

This was according to testimony from her close friend Petrina Keay, who found Ms Faiers' lifeless body in the couple's first-floor bedroom covered by a sheet.

A pair of men's boxer shorts covered in blood was also found at the scene, the case file said.

Police have been told Ms Faiers 'doubted her partner's fidelity' and was 'thinking of leaving him and going back to England'.

Michele Faiers (pictured with her partner Michael Whitbread) was found fatally stabbed in her idyllic Italian home

Michael Whitebread (pictured) is 'looking forward to having his say', according to his lawyer 

She is said to have become 'upset and suspicious' about him after she saw him slap a female friend on the bottom at a New Year's Eve party.

The police file described the woman as a retired 62-year-old company director, whose identity is known to the Mail.

She is a divorced mother-of-two originally from Bath and who moved to Italy several years ago to start a new life with her partner, a former postman from Surrey.

The prosecution file claims that Michele confided in Petrina her doubts about Whitbread and was forced to sleep at her friend's home for a week at the start of last October after a violent row with him left her 'covered in bruises'.

Petrina told detectives the 'furious fight' had left Ms Faiers 'fearing for her life'.

Michele was found dead on November 1 when Petrina called round after becoming worried when she failed to return messages then found her lifeless in the bedroom.

Police established she was killed four days earlier and Whitbread was held by British cops in Shepshed near Loughborough, Leicestershire, after driving across Italy, Switzerland and France.

He was arrested at his daughter's house, just hours after the victim was found.

His daughter is believed to have alerted police that he was at her home after reading reports of the death on MailOnline.

Whitbread was described by neighbours to police as 'always a bit tipsy', while Michele was said to be 'calm and serene'.

The day before Michele was killed, Whitbread sent a message to the partner of the woman whose bottom he slapped, admitting that they 'had had sex together'.

But the other man doubted the claim and replied asking to meet Whitbread to clear the air.

Whitbread is said to have answered that there was 'no point as there was nothing to clear up and it happened'.

The following day - after Michelle had been stabbed to death - Whitbread sent another message retracting what he had said, then sent a similar text a day later.

Whitbread was arrested last November in Shepshed near Loughborough, Leicestershire

Ms Faiers was found inside her rural home in Verratti village near Casoli, a town in eastern Italy

By then police had established through CCTV at the couple's home that Whitbread had left in the early hours of October 29 in their Jeep Compass and begun a 1,000-mile drive to the UK.

Traffic cameras picked him up crossing from Italy into Switzerland near Lake Maggiore at 4pm that day, while his last cell phone ping was earlier that afternoon from nearby Como.

The incident has left 100 expats who live in the area shocked yet reluctant to speak.

Petrina has refused to comment on the report and at the time placed a sign on her gate in English and Italian asking not to be disturbed.

CCTV footage seized from the couple's house shows Ms Faiers returning there on October 28 after meeting Petrina - and after that the only person seen leaving or entering is Whitbread.

After his departure on October 29, the next person to appear is Petrina early on the morning of November 1 when she made the horrific discovery.

One local Italian told MailOnline:' Apparently the tension between Michael and Michele was common knowledge between other British people living here.

'Michele had told a few people about it and after one nasty attack stayed with one of her friends for a week as she was in such a bad way.

'She was covered in bruises and was really scared for her life, he may have come across meek and mild abut after a drink he had a nasty temper.

'Things all started at a New Year's Eve party where Michael slapped another British woman's bottom and Michele wasn't very happy, she got jealous and had a go at him.

'It led to tension between this couple and them and they stopped seeing each other and avoided each other at communal functions.

'The fact he was supposed to be having an affair with this woman was common knowledge and it had got to the point where Michele just wasn't having it and wanted to go back to England to be with her family.

'She'd been there in September for a wedding and came back talking about what a lovely time she'd had and that she was determined to move back, but sadly it wasn't to be.'

Whitbread is due to appear via video-link tomorrow in front of Italian investigating judge Chiara D'Alfonso before being transferred to a prison at Lanciano, closer to where Ms Faiers died.