| Murder of Gordon Semple | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Flat 5, Peabody Estate,Southwark,London |
| Coordinates | 51°30′19″N0°05′47″W / 51.5054°N 0.0964°W /51.5054; -0.0964 |
| Date | 1 April 2016 (2016-04-01) |
Attack type | Murder |
| Victim | Gordon Semple |
| Perpetrator | Stefano Brizzi |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions | Murder, obstructing a coroner |
| Judge | Nicholas Hilliard |
 | |
| Sentence | Life imprisonment (minimum of 24 years) |
Gordon Archibald Semple (13 June 1956 – 1 April 2016) was a BritishMetropolitan Police officer who was murdered by Stefano Brizzi on 1 April 2016.[1]
Stefano Brizzi arranged onGrindr to meet Gordon Semple for achemsex party at his apartment in thePeabody Estate[2] inSouthwark, London, where Brizzi strangled Semple to death. He then attempted to dispose of the body but was arrested by police on 7 April.[3][4]
Brizzi went on trial in October 2016. During the trial, he denied committing the murder, but admitted to obstructing a coroner in the execution of their duties. On 13 November, he was convicted for both crimes.[5] In December, Brizzi was given a life sentence with a minimum of 24 years.[6][7]
On 5 February 2017, Brizzi committedsuicide by hanging atHMP Belmarsh.[8]
Gordon Semple was born inInverness on 13 June 1956. He grew up in theRaigmore area and attendedInverness High School.[1] At the age of 18, Semple moved to London and got a job at theBank of Scotland.[9] In 1974,[10] Semple joined theMetropolitan Police in 1983, later becoming constable in the antisocial behaviour unit.[11] Semple lived inGreenhithe, Kent and was in anopen relationship with Gary Meeks.[1][12][5]
Stefano Brizzi was born 26 June 1966[5] in thecomune ofSan Marcello Pistoiese,Pistoia,Tuscany,Italy[13] and was raisedCatholic. At the age of 15, he realised he was gay, but hid his sexuality fearing the reactions of those around him.[14] Brizzi studied at theUniversity of Florence[15] before moving to London in 2012 and getting a computer programming job atMorgan Stanley.[13] In 2008, Brizzi was diagnosed withHIV andHepatitis C which he described as "a death sentence".[16] In 2013,[17] Brizzi became addicted tocrystal meth which forced him to quit his job in February 2015.[5] He later joined a support group for his drug addiction calledCrystal Meth Anonymous[13]
Brizzi also became aSatanist as a "rejection of Christian values".[13]
On 1 April 2016 at 12:30pmGMT, Gordon Semple left a meeting at theShangri-La Hotel inThe Shard to meet Stefano Brizzi whom he had contacted onGrindr.[1] At 3pm, he was last seen onCCTV at Great Guildford Street.[2][18] Semple arrived at Brizzi's house where the two organised a sex party, inviting other men to the flat.[3] During abondage session, Brizzi strangled Semple to death.[19] While Semple was being strangled a man, who was identified in court as "CD", showed up for the party; Brizzi turned the man away, claiming that someone had been sick and the party was cancelled.[20]
After failing to return home, Semple's partner, Gary Meeks, reported him missing that evening.[18][21] Thousands of people later joined aFacebook group that Semple's niece, Kerry Nicholas, set up to help search for him.[22][23]
On 5 April, Brizzi was filmed on CCTV at Leyland Specialist Decorators' Merchants, aDIY store near his house,[24] where he bought buckets, metal sheets, acid bottles, and cleaning products to dispose of Semple's body.[5][19]
On 7 April, neighbours were alerted to a "stench of death" coming from Brizzi's flat. Martin Harris, Brizzi's neighbour, confronted him and he claimed that he was "cooking for a friend".[25][7] Brizzi was arrested after police investigated the flat due to complaints about the smell.[26] Brizzi greeted them wearing pinkbriefs andaviator sunglasses.[4] While he was being arrested, Brizzi confessed to them that he had killed a police officer he met on Grindr and that he tried to dissolve the body.
Inside Brizzi's flat, police found "globules" of flesh in the bath, which was filled withsodium hydroxide andspirits of salt containinghydrofluoric acid;[5][27] bags containing bones; parts of Semple's head; and pools of human fat in the oven.[28] Semple'sDNA was found on kitchen utensils, leading to speculation that he hadeaten part of Semple's body.[17] They also found bite marks on a piece of bone and evidence that one of Semple's legs was burned.[29][30]
Brizzi had taken some of the parts he could not destroy and dumped them in theRiver Thames.[29] A foot was later found by a member of Thames Mudlark Club near Bermondsey Wall.[19]
While being interrogated, he told police thatSatan had told him to "kill, kill, kill".[17]
In October 2016, Stefano Brizzi went on trial at theOld Bailey. He denied murder but admitted to the crime of obstructing a coroner in the execution of their duties. During the trial, he claimed that Semple's death was accidental and a result of a "sex game that went wrong".[31]
On 13 November, he was convicted for both crimes by a jury with a 10:2 majority after 30 hours of deliberation.[5] In December, he was sentenced by JudgeNicholas Hilliard to life imprisonment with a minimum of 24 years. The judge added that the "regret you express now for Mr. Semple's death has to be seen against what you did over a number of days to his body".[6]
On 5 February 2017, Stefano Brizzi committedsuicide by hanging, aged 50, atHMP Belmarsh.[11][8]
