Gordon Archibald Semple (13 June 1956 – 1 April 2016) was a British Metropolitan Police officer who was murdered by Stefano Brizzi on 1 April 2016.[1]
| Murder of Gordon Semple | |
|---|---|
| Location | Flat 5, Peabody Estate, Southwark, London |
| Coordinates | 51°30′19″N 0°05′47″W / 51.5054°N 0.0964°W |
| Date | 1 April 2016 |
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) |
Stefano Brizzi arranged on Grindr to meet Gordon Semple for a chemsex party at his apartment in the Peabody Estate[2] in Southwark, 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 committed suicide by hanging at HMP Belmarsh.[8]
Background
Gordon Semple
Gordon Semple was born in Inverness on 13 June 1956. He grew up in the Raigmore area and attended Inverness High School.[1] At the age of 18, Semple moved to London and got a job at the Bank of Scotland.[9] In 1974,[10] Semple joined the Metropolitan Police in 1983, later becoming constable in the antisocial behaviour unit.[11] Semple lived in Greenhithe, Kent and was in an open relationship with Gary Meeks.[1][12][5]
Stefano Brizzi
Stefano Brizzi was born 26 June 1966[5] in the comune of San Marcello Pistoiese, Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy.[13] and was raised Catholic. 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 the University of Florence[15] before moving to London in 2012 and getting a computer programming job at Morgan Stanley.[13] In 2008, Brizzi was diagnosed with HIV and Hepatitis C which he described as "a death sentence".[16] In 2013,[17] Brizzi became addicted to crystal meth which forced him to quit his job in February 2015.[5] He joined a support group for his drug addiction called Crystal Meth Anonymous[13]
Brizzi also became a Satanist as a "rejection of Christian values".[13]
Incident and investigation
On 1 April 2016, at 12:30pm, Gordon Semple left a meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in The Shard to meet Stefano Brizzi whom he had contacted on Grindr.[1] At 3pm, he was last seen on CCTV 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 a bondage session, Brizzi strangled Semple to death.[19] While Semple was being strangled, a man showed up for the party, identified in court as "CD", 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] and thousands of people joined a Facebook 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, a DIY store near his house,[24] where he brought 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 pink briefs and aviator sunglasses.[4] While he was being arrested, he confessed to officers that he had killed a police officer and tried to dissolve the body and that he met on Grindr and said that "Satan told me to".[11]
Inside Brizzi's flat, police found "globules" of flesh in the bath, which was filled with sodium hydroxide and spirits of salt containing hydrofluoric acid,[5][27] bags containing bones, parts of Semple's head, and pools of human fat in the oven.[28] Semple's DNA was found on kitchen utensils leading to speculation that he had eaten part of Semple's body.[17] They also found bite marks on a piece of bone and evidence that one of Semple's legs were burned.[29][30]
Brizzi had taken some of the parts that he couldn't destroy and dumped them in the River Thames.[29] A foot was later found by a member of Thames Mudlark Club near Bermondsey Wall.[19]
While being interrogated, he told police that Satan had told him to "kill, kill, kill".[17]
Trial and sentencing
In October 2016, Stefano Brizzi went on trial at the Old 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 Judge Nicholas Hilliard to life imprisonment with a minimum of 24 years. The judge added "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]
Suicide of Stefano Brizzi
On 5 February 2017, Stefano Brizzi committed suicide by hanging at HMP Belmarsh.[11][8]