Breaking Bad fanatic may have eaten body parts of police officer after DNA found in oven, Old Bailey hears

A sadomasochist accused of strangling a police officer and dissolving his remains in a bath filled with acid may have cooked and eaten some of his body parts, a court has heard.

Italian social worker Stefano Brizzi, 50, is accused of strangling 59-year-old PC Gordon Semple at the defendant's south London flat after meeting him on the gay dating site Grindr.

DNA from the alleged victim was discovered on the blade of a blender, cooking pot, chopsticks and in the oven of Brizzi's kitchen, the Old Bailey heard during the second day of his trial on Friday (21 October).

Bite marks were also found on a piece of bone recovered from his kitchen bin and evidence recovered showing one of PC Semple's legs had been burned, the jury was told.

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC told jurors: "So, the defendant cannot have confined himself to dismembering Gordon Semple and disposing of his body either by acid in the bath or else in the dustbins.

"Instead, the prosecution suggest it would be open to the jury to find that the defendant cooked part of his body and ate it."

PC Semple went missing on 1 April and his remains were found a week later after Brizzi's neighbour was said to have alerted police to a "smell of death" coming from the Southwark property.

Brizzi denies murder, claiming the Met Police officer died accidentally during a sex game.

The jury heard how PC Semple – said to be in a same-sex relationship and who shared an interest in sadomasochism with his alleged killer – had made contact with Brizzi on Grindr while he was on duty on 1 April.

PC Semple sent a message saying he was "free now for hot, dirty, sleazy" sex and went to the defendant's flat but wasn't seen again, the court heard.

Police arrived at Brizzi's flat a week later on 7 April after complaints from a neighbour about the smell.

The defendant allegedly let officers in wearing only sunglasses and pants. Jurors were told officers then discovered "globules" of flesh in a bath full of acid, with Brizzi allegedly telling police he had also thrown some of PC Semple's body parts into the River Thames as part of a "nice funeral".

The defendant is alleged to have also told an officer: "I've tried to dissolve the body. I've killed a police officer. Satan told me to."

The jury heard how he allegedly claimed to have flushed body parts down his toilet that couldn't be dissolved in chemicals, including PC Semple's lungs. He also allegedly said he'd "tried to roast" Semple's foot, hand and leg.

Aylett QC suggested Brizzi had used a perforated metal sheet bought from a DIY store as a "grater" to strip flesh from the alleged victim's body.

Inside the oven was a pool of PC Semple's body fat and evidence of heat damage to one of his legs, the court was told.

One of the officers at his home looked inside a bin liner on the floor and saw a human hand and part of a spine, the court heard. A human foot was later discovered by the Thames riverbank at Bermondsey Wall.

While in the custody suite after his arrest, Brizzi, who was said by the prosecution to be a crystal meth addict, allegedly told investigators: "I thought I was getting away with it. I had nearly finished but I took a shot (of crystal meth). I was going to finish the job today.

"As you can see, this man was a very big man and all I have left is two buckets."

The Italian was interested in Satanic rituals, the jury was told, and had allegedly informed police he'd heard Satan's voice saying: "You must kill".

Obsessed with Breaking Bad

Brizzi attended a rehabilitation group where he talked about performing Satanic rituals while having sex, it was claimed.

He was also said to have become obsessed with the popular US television show Breaking Bad in which the lead character, Walter White, turns to making crystal meth to make money for his family after being diagnosed with cancer.

One chilling episode in the award-winning series sees White, played by actor Bryan Cranston, try to dissolve a corpse in acid – something the prosecution said had inspired Brizzi's alleged crimes.

Brizzi denies murder but has admitted a second charge of obstructing a coroner in the execution of duty between 31 March and 8 April 2016.

Jurors heard that PC Semple and Brizzi engaged in sexual conduct that involved the alleged victim having a leash put around his neck.

Aylett said: "As the defendant did so, it is claimed that the leash slipped. It was then that the defendant realised that Mr Semple was no longer breathing. The defendant says that Mr Semple had no pulse, the defendant was unable to rouse him."

He added: "Whether it was done as part of some satanic ritual, or whether it occurred in the course of sexual activity – as the defendant now says – or whether any drugs that the defendant had taken had made him paranoid, the prosecution allege that the defendant deliberately strangled Gordon Semple.

"Having murdered him, he went on to dismember his body before attempting to dispose of it in circumstances that amount to cannibalism."

A post-mortem examination revealed traces of GHB and the drug ketamine in PC Semple's remains.

The trial continues.