A MAN accused of stabbing his partner to death told a friend he ‘needed a new girlfriend’ just weeks before her death.

Alberto Fioletti, also told the friend his partner was “selfish” and she had “disrespected” him in an argument.

Fioletti, 31, is facing trial for the murder of Stephanie Hodgkinson who was found with stab wounds at her Bournemouth home.

During a cross-examination by prosecutor Steven Perian, it was claimed that those closest to Fioletti were “bombarded with his mental health challenges”.

He had sent suicide threats and images of his self-harm to previous partners and had hurt himself in front of his mother, the court heard.

In February 2020, while working at a veterinary practice in Northern Ireland, Fioletti caused “distress” when he told a veterinary nurse he was going to take his life and gestured towards the ‘dangerous drugs cupboard’.

When Mr Perian asked if this was an incident of ‘attention seeking’, the defendant responded: “It wasn’t for attention, it was help I needed.”

The court heard how Fioletti had removed this place of work from his CV as to avoid any negative references.

In the summer of 2022, the defendant ‘formed a connection’ with a surgeon he met at a vets he joined in County Durham.

Fioletti is said to have “bombarded” this surgeon with details of his mental health.

On one occasion, he sent the surgeon a picture of a syringe indicating he was going to kill himself with veterinary euthanasia drugs.

When Mr Perian asked if the defendant felt empathy for what he had put the surgeon through, he responded: “It’s difficult for me when I feel that way”, “when I’m in that state I can’t think rationally”.

Mr Perian then suggested Fioletti didn’t care, to which the defendant said: “I wouldn’t describe it as not caring because it involves me being irrational.”

The court also heard how Fioletti had met other women via the dating apps Tinder and Bumble – with them having also received suicidal messages from him.

Concerned for his welfare, some would call the police, but when officers arrived to see Fioletti, he would say he was “fine”.

When Mr Perian asked the defendant why he would send such messages, Fioletti replied: “That’s how I felt”.

Moving on to Fioletti’s relationship with Stephanie, Mr Perian noted the pair had met via Bumble and had their first date at the Boathouse in Christchurch.

Mr Perian asked: “During the period that you first met [Stephanie], what did you tell her about your mental health challenges”.

Fioletti responded that on the first date, he told her he had been in therapy since he was 14 and that he had a difficult relationship with his dad, but nothing about his self-harming.

The court then heard about an argument the couple had on May 5, in which Fioletti reportedly said: “I hope you’re happy with yourself. You’re gonna have a death on your hands now.”

The following day, he contacted a friend he had met at a Bournemouth veterinary clinic and said: “I need a new girlfriend”.

When asked why he said this, Fioletti said: “It was a weird way to introduce the issues I was having with her [Stephanie].

Stephanie was found dead with stab wounds at her home in Rosemount Road, Alum Chine, on Friday May 12.

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

The trial continues.