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| Man may have cooked and eaten parts of PC's corpse, court told | |
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| A man may have cooked and eaten parts of a police officer’s corpse after strangling him, a court has heard. | |
| Stefano Brizzi, 50, is accused of murdering PC Gordon Semple, who had served with the Metropolitan police for 30 years, on 1 April after inviting him round for drug-fuelled sex. | Stefano Brizzi, 50, is accused of murdering PC Gordon Semple, who had served with the Metropolitan police for 30 years, on 1 April after inviting him round for drug-fuelled sex. |
| Brizzi admits dismembering and disposing of the 59-year-old police officer’s body, but claims his death was an accident and denies murder. | Brizzi admits dismembering and disposing of the 59-year-old police officer’s body, but claims his death was an accident and denies murder. |
| At the Old Bailey on Friday, prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said Semple’s DNA was recovered from Brizzis’s oven, a cooking pot and chopsticks found in the flat. Additionally, possible bite marks were found on a rib in the kitchen dustbin and a leg bone showed signs of heat damage, he said. | At the Old Bailey on Friday, prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said Semple’s DNA was recovered from Brizzis’s oven, a cooking pot and chopsticks found in the flat. Additionally, possible bite marks were found on a rib in the kitchen dustbin and a leg bone showed signs of heat damage, he said. |
| “It could be seen that the handle of the oven was bloodstained. Inside the oven, there was a pool of fat and grease,” Aylett told the jury. “This was found to contain a DNA profile that matched that of Gordon Semple.” | “It could be seen that the handle of the oven was bloodstained. Inside the oven, there was a pool of fat and grease,” Aylett told the jury. “This was found to contain a DNA profile that matched that of Gordon Semple.” |
| He continued: “The prosecution suggests that it would be open to you to find that the defendant had cooked part of his body and eaten it as well.” | He continued: “The prosecution suggests that it would be open to you to find that the defendant had cooked part of his body and eaten it as well.” |
| Other human remains were found in the bathroom, in the bath which was filled with acid and in plastic buckets and bin liners. | Other human remains were found in the bathroom, in the bath which was filled with acid and in plastic buckets and bin liners. |
| When officers went to Brizzi’s flat on 7 April, after neighbours complained about the smell, there was “an overpowering smell of chemicals combined with the smell of rotten meat”, Aylett told the court. | When officers went to Brizzi’s flat on 7 April, after neighbours complained about the smell, there was “an overpowering smell of chemicals combined with the smell of rotten meat”, Aylett told the court. |
| He said one of the officers went into the bathroom, “parted the top of one of the bin bags and saw what she thought was flesh. Then she saw what she believed to be a human pelvis, hip bone. Shaken by what she had seen, she nonetheless called: ‘There is a carcass in the bag.’” | He said one of the officers went into the bathroom, “parted the top of one of the bin bags and saw what she thought was flesh. Then she saw what she believed to be a human pelvis, hip bone. Shaken by what she had seen, she nonetheless called: ‘There is a carcass in the bag.’” |
| A paramedic, Marianne Hardie, opened a bag in the bathroom and found what she realised was a human hand and what appeared to be part of the spine, the court heard. | A paramedic, Marianne Hardie, opened a bag in the bathroom and found what she realised was a human hand and what appeared to be part of the spine, the court heard. |
| The defendant, who now claims that Semple’s death was an accident, confessed to killing him to the police officers, saying: “Satan told me to.” He said he did not know his victim but did not like him, describing Semple as fat, ugly and unattractive, the jury was told. Brizzi added: “I am from a Catholic family so when I found out I was gay, I found out I was from Satan.” | The defendant, who now claims that Semple’s death was an accident, confessed to killing him to the police officers, saying: “Satan told me to.” He said he did not know his victim but did not like him, describing Semple as fat, ugly and unattractive, the jury was told. Brizzi added: “I am from a Catholic family so when I found out I was gay, I found out I was from Satan.” |
| After being arrested, in an interview at Lewisham police station, he told detectives he had cut the body into sections using a saw, attempted to roast a leg and disposed of some body parts beside the Thames. | After being arrested, in an interview at Lewisham police station, he told detectives he had cut the body into sections using a saw, attempted to roast a leg and disposed of some body parts beside the Thames. |
| The jury has heard that Brizzi, himself a heavy crystal meth user, was obsessed with the US television drama Breaking Bad in which the main character, Walter White, a chemistry teacher turned crystal meth producer, kills a rival and dissolves his body in acid. | The jury has heard that Brizzi, himself a heavy crystal meth user, was obsessed with the US television drama Breaking Bad in which the main character, Walter White, a chemistry teacher turned crystal meth producer, kills a rival and dissolves his body in acid. |
| Details of the extreme sexual proclivities of both Semple and Brizzi have been described to the court in graphic detail. | Details of the extreme sexual proclivities of both Semple and Brizzi have been described to the court in graphic detail. |
| The pair made contact on Grindr on 1 April and Semple, who messaged the defendant to say he was “free now for (a) hot dirty sleazy session”, went to Brizzis’s flat in Southwark, London, later that afternoon. | The pair made contact on Grindr on 1 April and Semple, who messaged the defendant to say he was “free now for (a) hot dirty sleazy session”, went to Brizzis’s flat in Southwark, London, later that afternoon. |
| The prosecution case is that Brizzi was tired and fractious, partly because he had been let down by someone else on Grindr, and deliberately killed Semple before attempting to dispose of his body. A postmortem found that Semple had been struck in the face while still alive. | The prosecution case is that Brizzi was tired and fractious, partly because he had been let down by someone else on Grindr, and deliberately killed Semple before attempting to dispose of his body. A postmortem found that Semple had been struck in the face while still alive. |
| Concluding his opening argument, Aylett said: “Whether it was done as part of some satanic ritual (as the defendant originally claimed) or whether it occurred in the course of sexual activity (as the defendant now says) or whether any drugs that the defendant had taken make him paranoid, the prosecution allege that the defendant deliberately strangled Gordon Semple. Having murdered him, he went on to dismember his body before attempting to dispose of it in circumstances that the prosecution suggest amount to cannibalism.” | Concluding his opening argument, Aylett said: “Whether it was done as part of some satanic ritual (as the defendant originally claimed) or whether it occurred in the course of sexual activity (as the defendant now says) or whether any drugs that the defendant had taken make him paranoid, the prosecution allege that the defendant deliberately strangled Gordon Semple. Having murdered him, he went on to dismember his body before attempting to dispose of it in circumstances that the prosecution suggest amount to cannibalism.” |
| The police officer’s partner, Gary Meeks, made more than 20 unanswered calls to Semple’s mobile phone on the evening of 1 April and, when he failed to return home, reported him missing the next morning. As the days passed an extensive investigation into Semple’s disappearance was conducted. | The police officer’s partner, Gary Meeks, made more than 20 unanswered calls to Semple’s mobile phone on the evening of 1 April and, when he failed to return home, reported him missing the next morning. As the days passed an extensive investigation into Semple’s disappearance was conducted. |
| The jury was shown CCTV footage of the defendant visiting a hardware store on 5 April. | The jury was shown CCTV footage of the defendant visiting a hardware store on 5 April. |
| Among the items he purchased were a metal sheet, bleach, pincers, a putty knife, heavy-duty scissors and carpet cleaner. | Among the items he purchased were a metal sheet, bleach, pincers, a putty knife, heavy-duty scissors and carpet cleaner. |
| The search for Semple only ended by chance when neighbours of Brizzi, upset about the smell emanating from his flat, called the police. | The search for Semple only ended by chance when neighbours of Brizzi, upset about the smell emanating from his flat, called the police. |
| The case continues. | The case continues. |