Borough man Stefano Brizzi has been called an “evil and calculating man” by London CPS’s deputy chief crown prosecutor, after he was found guilty of murdering PC Gordon Semple.
Brizzi claimed the death of PC Smple he met on social media site Grindr was “accidental and the result of a sex game gone wrong” in April.
Malcolm McHaffie, the deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said: “Stefano Brizzi is an evil and calculating man who intentionally killed Gordon Semple and then made gruesome attempts to dispose of his body.
“He cynically lied to the court and the jury claiming that Mr Semple’s tragic death was caused when a sex game went horribly wrong and that he had taken drugs which caused him to try to cover up the death. This was all fabricated by Brizzi to evade justice.
“In taking steps to fully understand Brizzi’s lifestyle, we scrutinised many thousands of social media messages. Piecing together the events of that evening was equally challenging, bearing in mind the extreme lengths that Brizzi went to to remove traces of his crime and cover his tracks.
“However, built on the foundation of a strong police investigation, and detailed toxicology and pathology evidence, we put a very strong case before the court and Brizzi has now been brought to justice for his terrible crimes.
“We hope that the outcome today provides some comfort to friends and family of Mr Semple.”
A statement on behalf of the family of Gordon Semple said: “Gordon was a loyal and much loved long term partner, brother, brother in law, uncle, cousin and friend to all.
“We were devastated when the news broke of Gordon’s murder and the circumstances which are still incredibly hard to deal with. It is still insurmountably upsetting.
“At Gordon’s funeral we met many of his friends and work colleagues – we were proud to hear how fondly they thought of Gordon.
“Gordon will be sadly missed by our family. Gordon we miss you so much, may you rest in peace.”
Brizzi will be sentenced on December 9.
