Constable Gordon Semple was found dead at a London flat
An Italian man will go on trial later for allegedly strangling and dismembering a police officer he met on gay dating website Grindr.
Stefano Brizzi, 50, is accused of killing 59-year-old Pc Gordon Semple at his London flat some time between April 1 and April 7.
The officer went missing on April 1 and his remains were discovered a week later after a neighbour alerted Scotland Yard to a “smell of death” coming from a property on the Peabody Estate in Southwark Street, south London.
Brizzi denies murder and is due to go on trial at the Old Bailey before Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC.
A jury panel is expected to be selected before prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC outlines the case on Wednesday.
The trial is expected to last for around three weeks.
Mr Semple was originally from Inverness in Scotland and had been with the Metropolitan Police for 30 years.
Man on trial for murdering and dismembering Highland police officer
