Man accused of killing Scot he met on gay dating site

A jury has been sworn in for the trial of an Italian man accused of strangling and dismembering a Scots-born police officer he met on gay dating website Grindr.

Gordon Semple went missing on April 1. Picture: PA

Stefano Brizzi, 50, allegedly killed 59-year-old Pc Gordon Semple, originally from Inverness, at his London flat some time between April 1 and April 7.

The officer went missing on April 1 and his remains were discovered a week later after a neighbour alerted Scotland Yard to a “smell of death” coming from a property on the Peabody Estate in Southwark Street, south London.

Brizzi denies murder and is on trial at the Old Bailey before Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC.

A jury was sworn in and then told to return to court on Thursday morning when prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC will outline the case.

The trial is expected to last for around three weeks.

Mr Semple had been with the Metropolitan Police for 30 years.

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