A MAN stabbed his girlfriend seven times after she tried to break up with him, a court heard.

Alberto Fioletti, 31, faces trial for the murder of his ex-partner Stephanie Hodgkinson after she was found with stab wounds in her home.

The defendant told a 999 operator that he had ‘killed his girlfriend’ and stabbed himself.

Read more: Bournemouth murder trial prosecution opening - as it happened

When asked why, Fioletti said because ‘she did not want to be with me anymore’.

Prosecutor Steven Perian told Bournemouth Crown Court that the defendant stabbed Stephanie on May 12 because she had ‘the courage’ to end their relationship of seven months and ‘refused to be manipulated by him’.

He said that the defendant had previously used self-harm to gain sympathy and manipulate others.

On May 5, Stephanie’s sister received a distressed phone call from her sister saying she had ‘made a mistake by allowing someone into her life who she shouldn’t have’.

Stephanie told her sister Fioletti was confrontational after she had spoken to a friend and when she asked him to leave, he sat on the floor crying.

Fioletti reportedly said to Stephanie: “I hope you’re happy with yourself. You’re gonna have a death on your hands now.”

A few days later the defendant apologised and said he suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, describing it as a ‘demon’ he fights each day.

At midday on May 12, the defendant called 999 to say he had ‘killed his girlfriend’ and tried to take his own life.

In an audio recording played to the court, Fioletti can be heard saying ‘I killed a person’ and said he thought he had stabbed her at least ten times.

At the end of the call the defendant could be heard speaking in Italian to his mother and saying he had killed her and that he was dying because he was bleeding to death.

A post-mortem examination found that Stephanie received seven stab wounds, six to her chest and one to her back.

The wounds severely injured her organs including heart, lungs and blood vessels and her injuries were non-survivable.

Fioletti has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.

The trial continues.