‘Breaking Bad killer’
Scottish PC was strangled by gay lover before being dismembered and thrown into acid bath, like plot from hit TV show, murder trial told
AN IT expert obsessed with TV show Breaking Bad strangled a Scottish police officer before trying to dissolve his body in an acid bath, a jury was told yesterday.
Stefano Brizzi, 50, is accused of murdering off-duty PC Gordon Semple when the pair met for a drug-fuelled group sex session.
The Italian, who used to work for Morgan Stanley, chopped up his victim with a saw before tossing body parts in the River Thames, the court heard.
He is alleged to have claimed that ‘Satan told me to’ kill the officer.
Brizzi was a fan of Breaking Bad, the hit US drama about a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin, which contains a scene showing the body of a rival being dissolved in an acid bath.
He also referred to the drug crystal meth, which is at the centre of the series, as ‘Nutella’, the court heard.
Inverness-born PC Semple’s remains were found after police were alerted by neighbours to an appalling ‘smell of death’.
Officers were hit by an overwhelming stench after Brizzi opened the front door of his flat wearing just underwear and a pair of sunglasses.
Inside they discovered some of their colleague’s remains in the bath and found that attempts had been made to boil his flesh away in saucepans. Later, a severed foot was found in the river.
Yesterday, Brizzi went on trial at the Old Bailey, where he claimed PC Semple, 59, died accidentally during a sex game.
He denies murder but admits obstructing the coroner in his duty by dismembering the body.
Opening the case against him, Crispin Aylett, QC, warned jurors they needed ‘strong stomachs as well as broad minds’.
He said PC Semple went to Brizzi’s flat in Southwark, south London, on April 1.
They arranged the rendezvous on gay dating app Grindr and invited others to join in.
When PC Semple did not return home, his partner Gary Meeks called his mobile phone – it was answered but all he could hear was breathing.
Six days later, two women PCs visited Brizzi’s home and made the gruesome discovery.
Mr Aylett said: ‘The officers were met with a sight that must have been beyond anything for which they had been trained. In the bathroom, the bath was full of what turned out to be acid.
‘On the bathroom floor were plastic buckets containing human remains.’
Brizzi allegedly said: ‘I’ve tried to dissolve the body… I’ve killed a police officer. I killed him last week. I met him on Grindr and I killed him. Satan told me to.’
He was interested in Satanic rituals and police found a number of notes with sentences such as ‘Lucifer, I call you forth’.
Brizzi and PC Semple had invited two other men to join the ‘party’ but only one turned up.
When the man arrived at 7pm, Brizzi told him through the interhe com: ‘Someone fell ill but we’re taking care of it. So our party is cancelled.’
On April 4, a neighbour complained about the ‘revolting smell’ and Brizzi told him he had been cooking for a friend. The same day bought a set of saws and several large buckets.
His neighbours also heard the sound of hammering and banging coming from his flat after PC Semple’s disappearance.
He later placed an unlit candle outside the front door.
After his arrest, Brizzi said he had been hearing voices telling him: ‘You must kill. You must kill.’
Despite this, he is not claiming to be mentally ill.
Asked why body parts were found in the river, he said: ‘I kind of said “goodbye”... I thought it was a nice way to... make a funeral on the River Thames.’
Mr Aylett said the Italian must have hoped first to avoid being caught and, if that failed, to make it impossible to discover how PC Semple had died.
A pathologist identified bruising on the officer’s neck, suggesting he was strangled.
Police found Brizzi was addicted to crystal meth. He had been sacked by Morgan Stanley over his drug use.
He confessed to his addicts’ support group his obsession with devil worship and members said he was open about his sexual practices.
Mr Aylett said: ‘At one meeting, he told the others how he had tied a man up and treated him like a dog, making the man go in a cage.’
PC Semple lived in Greenhithe, Kent. He was attached to a Westminster Council anti-social behaviour unit. The trial continues.
‘Hearing voices telling him to kill’