Gordon Semple: Social worker denies murdering Met Police officer 'he met on Grindr'

Victim: Gordon Semple
Metropolitan Police
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

An Italian social worker accused of strangling a Met Police officer he met through gay dating website Grindr today denied murder.

Stefano Brizzi, 49, allegedly killed 59-year-old PC Gordon Semple before chopping up the body at his flat on the Peabody estate in Southwark.

PC Semple, originally from Inverness in Scotland, was reported missing by his partner on April 1 after he failed to return home from work.

The officer, of Greenhithe, Dartford, had last been seen at the luxury Shangri La hotel at the Shard in central London.

Police at the scene in Southwark
Jeremy Selwyn

Brizzi is accused of killing him between April 1 and April 7, when the dead officer's remains were found near communal bins at his block of flats.

He appear at the Old Bailey via videolink from HMP Belmarsh this morning to deny one charge of murder.

Bespectacled Brizzi, wearing a purple open-collar shirt, sat with his fingers pressed together throughout the hearing.

He spoke only to confirm his name and enter a not guilty plea.

Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC, the Recorder of London, adjourned the case until trial on October 18, remanding Brizzi in custody.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT