A jury was sworn in at the Old Bailey this week for the trial of a Borough web developer, accused of killing and dismembering a policeman.
Stefano Brizzi, 49, allegedly murdered PC Gordon Semple at his flat off Southwark Street between April 1 and 7 after arranging a meeting on a gay dating website.
The 59-year-old officer’s remains were found after police were alerted to a ‘smell of death’ coming from the Peabody Trust Estate on April 7.
A jury of eight men and four women were sworn in for the trial, and seven reserve jurors were also called.
Judge Nicholas Hilliard, the Recorder of London, told them: “This is a case of murder, it’s an important case from everybody’s point of view.”
He told them that the trial would likely be concluded by November 11 at the very latest.
PC Semple, originally from Inverness, Scotland, was last seen leaving London’s Shard at 12.30pm on April 1 after an on-duty meeting at the five-star Shangri-La hotel.
The officer, who lived with partner Gary Meeks, in Greenhithe, Kent, was attached to a Westminster Council anti-social behaviour unit.
Brizzi, of the Peabody Trust Estate, Borough is charged with murder.