Police killer had ligature, jury hears

Brizzi found hanged in cell

A man convicted of murdering a police officer from Inverness before dismembering his body and trying to dissolve it in a bath of acid made a ligature a few months before he was found hanging in his cell.

Stefano Brizzi, 50, was found suspended in his cell at Belmarsh prison on February 5 last year, less than three months into his 24-year sentence for killing PC Gordon Semple after meeting him on gay dating app Grindr.

Brizzi previously worked as a web developer for merchant bank Morgan Stanley and held degrees in both philosophy and web development, but had not held a job since 2014 due to his battle with a crystal meth addiction.

PC Semple, born and brought up in Inverness, was reported missing by his partner on April 2 – sparking a massive manhunt.

Police were alerted to the smell of chemicals and decomposing flesh coming from Brizzi’s flat on the Peabody Trust Estate in Borough, south-east London, on April 7.

Traces of the victim’s body were found in the oven, a tea strainer and even on some chopsticks, while a bite mark was found on a rib.

From December 6, Brizzi was placed on heightened observations after prison officers found a makeshift rope in his cell – just a few days before his sentence on December 12.

A jury at Southwark Coroner’s Court heard yesterday from Dr Matthew Cook, a locum forensic psychiatrist, who said: “He stated to the nurses that he didn’t have any suicidal thoughts.

“He was adamant that he didn’t have any thoughts or intention to harm himself.”

The inquest heard Brizzi had been teaching maths in the prison and had been working with a listener – a prisoner trained by Samaritans.

Dr Cook said Brizzi had told him that he did not think he would see the end of his sentence because he had a life-limiting illness.

The inquest, which is due to last for a week, continues.

EVIL: Stefano Brizzi, above, murdered PC Gordon Semple, from Inverness, at his flat in south-east London in April 2016