The Borough man accused of murdering PC Gordon Semple and dissolving his body in a bath of acid opened the door to police officers “dressed only in pink Y fronts”, an Old Bailey jury has heard.
The jury heard this week how Italian web developer Stefano Brizzi was addicted to meth, obsessed with TV-show Breaking Bad and had tried to eat part of PC Semple’s leg after he allegedly killed him at his flat on the Peabody Trust Estate in Southwark Street.
PC Charlotte Edwards, one of the officers who made the grim discovery, described the scene as similar to chicken remains, after being called to the flat by residents complaining of a “smell of death”.
Brizzi told her “I’ve killed a police officer,” but she said she didn’t immediately believe him and was concerned he had mental health problems.
The alleged killer later told her that 59-year-old PC Semple wanted him to enact a fantasy where Brizzi was a paedophile and he was a 15-year-old boy.
She said the smell coming from the flat wasn’t the usual dead body smell, but more like a meat market that is regularly scrubbed out with potent chemicals.
Brizzi answered the door almost immediately dressed only in pink Y fronts when she and her partner PC Helen Savage knocked at around 2.40pm on April 7.
She said: “He definitely wasn’t embarrassed, not shocked either – he was so immediate in opening the door it was as if he knew we were coming.
“He didn’t say “excuse me, I need to put some clothes on”.
“The paramedic was repeatedly asking if he was okay, he was rocking backwards and forwards, he walked towards me then changed his mind.
“I asked him “Is there something you want to tell me?” And he said “I’ve tried to dissolve the body”.”
When she asked about the body, he said: “I’ve killed a police officer.”
PC Edwards said she dealt with a lot of people with mental health problems, and that she was very sceptical of his claim.
“He said “I killed him last week. I met him on Grindr and I killed him. Satan told me to”.
“He then pointed towards the bathroom and said “I tried to dissolve him in the bathroom”.”
Stefano Brizzi is accused of murder and the trial is expected to last three weeks.