Fordingbridge vet Alberto Fioletti who stabbed Bournemouth mum Stephanie Hodgkinson to death is jailed for life

A heartbroken mother described how she was robbed of her “beautiful” daughter in a “horrific senseless act of evilness” after she was stabbed to death by a Fordingbridge vet who could not accept she wanted to end their relationship.

In an emotional impact statement, the mum told how she had spent two nights outside the Bournemouth flat where the body of Stephanie Hodgkinson (34) lay while a police forensic team looked for clues after her death.

She said: “I could not bear to think of her lying in a cold house alone. I sat outside at night blowing her kisses and talking to her in my car as if she was there.”

Alberto Fioletti (31), of West Street, had met Stephanie, a mum of two young boys, through a dating app in October 2022. The two were together until May but following a row over Stephanie talking to a friend at her home while Fioletti thought she should be studying for a degree she was taking, she decided to end things.

A jury at Bournemouth Crown Court had heard during a four-week trial earlier this year how Fioletti had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder when he was just a child.

Stephanie, who was described by her former partner as an “amazing mummy” who was “devoted to her boys”, had become disturbed by his behaviour during their relationship which included threats to kill himself.

On 12th May this year she asked her mother to take her youngest son out so she could tell Fioletti the relationship was over when he came to her home.

Her mother said in her statement how she had been worried about Stephanie meeting Fioletti alone.

At his trial, where he had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, it was revealed that after she had previously said she wanted to end things, Fioletti had told her: “I hope you’re happy with yourself, You’re going to have a death on your hands.”

But Stephanie’s mum said her daughter “had wanted to do the right thing” and tell him in person rather than by message. Recalling the last time she saw her, she described how as she drove Stephanie’s son away she was “waving us off, blowing kisses...I never thought that when she closed the door she would never come out alive again”.

The court heard how Fioletti turned up with a card and flowers for Stephanie but when she told him their relationship was over “he lost his temper”, and in what was described as a “ferocious” attack picked up a large kitchen knife and stabbed her seven times, causing “catastrophic injuries.” He then stabbed himself in the stomach, telling paramedics when they arrived: “I have killed my girlfriend.”

Stephanie’s mother arrived at the house with her grandson to find police outside. Later she was allowed to see her daughter at a mortuary, where she said staff had told her: ”Steph was so beautiful she looked like sleeping beauty.”

Describing life now, she told how Stephanie’s sons said when asked where they would like to go in the world, “Heaven so we can see mummy again”.

At Christmas they put “mummy” on their present list, she added.

As her statement was read, Fioletti, who the court heard had been on 24-hour suicide watch since being remanded in prison, remained emotionless in the dock.

He had been found guilty of murder after the trial’s conclusion in December.

Prosecutor Steven Perian KC said the defendant, who he described as a “danger to women”, had “lost his temper and picked up the first available weapon and killed Stephanie” after she ended the relationship.

He said no medication or therapy “will cure his personality disorder”.

In mitigation, Nicholas Haggan KC told how Fioletti’s “remorse is all too real”.

He said there had been no pre-meditation, adding that while giving evidence at his trial Fioletti had “broken down and said if he could turn the clock back, he would do anything to be able to do so”.

Sentencing Fiolleti to life in prison with a minimum term of 15 years, Judge Susan Evans told him: “You knew when you killed her (Stephanie) she had two young children to whom she was devoted. You carried out a ferocious attack on her because she did not want to be with you anymore.”

She said Stephanie would have experienced “extreme physical and emotional suffering”, but she said because the defendant was “suffering an abnormality of mental functioning” and in light of the fact the killing was not pre-meditated, his minimum term should be reduced from 17 years to 15.

However, she warned Fioletti that in her opinion, “you represent a significant danger to any female you find yourself in a relationship with”.

Speaking outside court, Detective Inspector Mark Jenkins, who led the investigation into Stephanie’s murder, said: “The investigation and prosecution team worked tirelessly to ensure Fioletti was brought to justice for murder and was not able to use his narcissistic personality to reduce responsibility for his actions.

“I hope the sentencing today provides some comfort to Stephanie’s loved ones and they can close this particular chapter in their grief.”