THE brother of a murdered police officer whose body was partially cooked and eaten by a drug addict has told how the killer's sudden death in prison will help bring closure.
Stefano Brizzi, 50, who strangled Inverness policeman Gordon Semple during an ill-fated bondage sex session, died at the high security HMP Belmarsh in Woolwich, south east London.
He is believed to have been found hanged in a cell.
Brizzi previously admitted that he was inspired to dispose of Mr Semple's body in an acid bath by his favourite TV series Breaking Bad.
In December, Brizzi, a former Morgan Stanley IT developer and crystal meth addict was found guilty of murder and was told he would serve a minimum of 24 years in prison.
The Prison Service said an ombudsman would conduct an independent investigation into Brizzi's death.
Ronnie Semple and wife, Maureen, Source: Facebook
Speaking to the Herald , Mr Semple's older brother Ronald, said he had been contacted by prison officials to inform him that Brizzi had died.
He said: "It's not going to bring back my brother, although it will gives us some more closure.
"Half of me is glad he did it and the other wishes maybe he should have served the 24 years in isolation."
Brizzi was arrested after police called to his flat to investigate a foul stench.
A crystal meth addict, Brizzi formerly worked for Morgan Stanley as an IT developer.
During the Old Bailey trial the Italian admitted he was inspired by his favourite TV series Breaking Bad as he tried to get away with the killing by dissolving the flesh in an acid bath.
During the Breaking Bad series, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman first use hydrofluoric acid in to dispose of the corpse of Emilio Koyama.
But in the show Jesse disregards Walter's instructions about using a plastic container, instead choosing to pour the acid onto the body placed in a bathtub.
This results in the acid dissolving through the bathtub and the floor, scattering Emilio's liquified remains into the hallway.
But Brizzi denied cooking and trying to eat parts of Mr Semple's body with chopsticks.
He claimed to have no memory of the incident.
The court heard that evidence from a forensic dentist settled the matter of whether Brizzi had in fact cannibalised part of his victim.
On examining a rib discarded in the kitchen bin, the expert found that a bite mark matched the defendant's lower teeth.
The trial had heard that Brizzi had arranged through gay matchmaking website Grindr a "hot, dirty, sleazy session" at his flat near London's Tate Modern gallery on April 1.
According to Brizzi, PC Semple died when a dog leash he had been wearing slipped as they played a "strangulation game".
But a pathologist concluded that, while strangulation was a possible cause of death, it would have taken minutes rather than moments, as the defendant had claimed.
In the days after the killing, Brizzi was caught on CCTV buying buckets, a perforated metal sheet and cleaning products from a DIY store.
He told police that he had "chucked" some of PC Semple's body into the Thames and thrown away his police badge and belongings.
A human foot was later found by a member of Thames Mudlark Club near Bermondsey Wall.
Stefano Brizzi jailed for the murder of Gordon Semple (right)
At Brizzi's home, police found a mask and dog leash with PC Semple's DNA on it as well as a copy of the Satanic Bible.
Figures released last month showed that suicides, assaults and self-harm behind bars have all surged to record levels, with 354 deaths in prisons in England and Wales last year, including 119 which were apparently self-inflicted.
Self-harm incidents jumped by nearly a quarter, while there were more than 25,000 assaults in the 12 months to September - equivalent to nearly 70 attacks every day.
The figures triggered new calls for reform of the prison system amid claims that jails are dangerously over-crowded.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel