Man to face trial accused of murdering and dismembering policeman
AN ITALIAN man will go on trial later for allegedly strangling and dismembering a policeman he met on the gay dating website Grindr.
Stefano Brizzi (left) is accused of killing policeman Gordon Semple at his London flat in April
Stefano Brizzi, a 50-year-old social worker, is accused of killing 59-year-old PC Gordon Semple at his London flat some time between April 1 and April 7.
The policeman went missing on April 1 and his remains were discovered a week later after a neighbour alerted Scotland Yard to a smell coming from a property on the Peabody Estate in Southwark Street, south London.
It is alleged that Brizzi murdered Semple after meeting him on gay dating app Grindr
During a lengthy forensic examination on the estate near the Tate Modern art gallery, some of PC Semple's body parts were found in communal waste bins.
Brizzi denies murder and is due to go on trial at the Old Bailey before Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC.
Gordon Semple is believed to have been strangled and dismembered
A jury panel is expected to be selected before prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC outlines the case tomorrow.
The trial is expected to last for around three weeks.
PC Semple who lived with his boyfriend was originally from Inverness in Scotland and had worked the Metropolitan Police Force for 30 years.