An Italian man who discovered his heavily pregnant girlfriend had met up with his secret British mistress told a Milan court on Monday how he stabbed his partner 37 times as she lay in the bath.
Barman Alessandro Impagnetiello, 31, confessed to the brutal murder of his 29-year-old girlfriend Giulia Tramontano – who was seven months pregnant – after she met his undercover lover last year.
This second lover, a British-Italian waitress, contacted Giulia after finding out about Impagnetiello’s affair.
The jaded women met on May 27, 2023, to trade stories of what the Briton described to police as the barman’s ‘psychological mistreatment’, and touching CCTV footage captured the moment the pair shared a heartfelt embrace as they left the meeting.
But Impagnetiello rounded on his pregnant girlfriend just hours later, bursting into the bathroom and viciously hacking at her with a knife as she bathed.
Picture shows Giulia Tramontano, 29, undated
Impagnatiello confessed to stabbing Giulia Tramontano, 29, (pictured) who was seven-months pregnant, as well as discarding her body in an abandoned area in Milan
Picture shows one of the last images of Giulia Tramontano as she hugged her boyfriend’s mistress
Picture shows Alessandro Impagnetiello, 31, undated
The unnamed British-Italian waitress, 23, had been in a relationship with Alessandro Impagnatiello, 31, (pictured) for around a year before discovering he had a pregnant girlfriend
Prosecutors say Impagnetiello decided to kill Giulia when she was contacted by the 23-year-old Brit who was also seeing him and discovered he already had a pregnant girlfriend.
The waitress, who was not named in the trial, contacted Giulia after learning of Impagnatiello’s double life and the two confided in each other over his abuse behaviour.
Even after discovering Impagnatiello was cheating on her, it is understood Giulia had decided to continue living with him for ‘as long as necessary’ for the sake of their unborn child.
But just hours after she returned from the meeting with Impagnetiello’s mistress, she was killed in the frenzied knife attack by the father of her unborn child.
In a stunning confession, the killer told the Milan court on Monday: ‘I killed Giulia Tramontano but I don’t know why. The number of stab wounds will always haunt me.
‘The person I was in that period is not the person I am today.
‘This trial is helping me organise my scattered thoughts and confusing pieces.
‘Now, I can reveal the real truth. I had created a web of lies in which I drowned.’
Impagnetiello went on to explain how, after killing his girlfriend, he watched a football match on his phone before stuffing Giulia’s corpse in the boot of his car.
He then drove to meet his mother for lunch.
‘I was having lunch at my mother’s with the body in the car,’ he admitted to the court.
Giulia Tramontano, 29, (pictured) was stabbed to death by boyfriend Alessandro Impagnatiello, 30, while seven months pregnant
Even after discovering Impagnatiello was cheating on her, it is understood Giulia had decided to continue living with him for ‘as long as necessary’ for the sake of their unborn child
Police officers escort Alessandro Impagnetiello ahead of questioning
A driving licence and bank card belonging to Giulia Tramontano were found by the Fire Department in a manhole, Milan
The court heard previously how Impagnetiello had broken down under police questioning and led officers to where he had hidden her body.
After carrying out the ruthless attack, he burned her body in a bath before hiding the remains in a garage and then in a cellar.
A day later, he reported her missing to police.
Then, in an attempt to throw investigators off the scent, he burned several of Giulia’s personal effects, discarded her ID and passport, and sent text messages to her phone asking where she was and begging for her to come back.
He tried to claim Giulia had left him after discovering his secret relationship and that he was worried about her disappearance.
But the barman was unable to continue the ruse and ultimately confessed to investigators days after carrying out the murder.
Giulia Tramontano’s documents were found by the Fire Department in a manhole near the terminus of the Metro Gialla Comasina, Milan
Alessandro Impagnatiello, accompanied by law enforcement, walk into the building where Giulia Tramontano’s corpse was concealed
Police carry out investigations after Giulia Tramontano was reported missing by her boyfriend
It later transpired that Impagnatiello’s British lover became suspicious and alerted the police after she received unusual messages from Giulia’s phone.
‘She was writing messages in a different way than she had done before’, the waitress told police, according to Italy’s ANSA news service.
It was subsequently revealed that Impagnetiello had sent the suspicious messages to his British lover from Giulia’s phone after he had stabbed her to death.
Police also say the barman had dosed Giulia with rat poison for months in the run up to her eventual murder, hoping to trigger a miscarriage after she told him she was pregnant.
Investigators discovered Impagnetiello had performed online searches for ‘ammonia foetus’, ‘rat poison’ and ‘how much rat poison is needed to kill a person’ when they searched his phone and devices.
He had also bought chloroform under a fake name, and Giulia complained of feeling ‘drugged’ to friends and family, the court heard.
Impagnetiello admits aggravated voluntary homicide, concealing a body, and nonconsensual abortion, local media reported.
He must now face questions from prosecutors to explain the details of his grisly crimes before a judge.