A "Breaking Bad" fan who killed a man he met on a popular gay dating app and, like the crime drama's protagonist, dissolved the remains in acid, was found dead Sunday.
The spokesperson declined to comment further about how Brizzi died, saying the coroner will determine the cause of death.
Brizzi, a 50-year-old Italian national who lived in south London and worked as a Web developer, was found guilty in November of killing Semple, a 30-year-veteran with the Metropolitan Police Service. The following month, a judge sentenced him to life in prison with a minimum of 24 years served, the Guardian reported.
Prosecutors said the two made contact April 1 on Grindr. According to the Guardian, Semple was on duty when he messaged Brizzi that he could meet Brizzi at his flat.
Stefano Brizzi, who was jailed for murdering a police officer and dissolving his body in acid, is found dead in jail https://t.co/aOHusHNORH
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 6, 2017
Semple's partner reported him missing the next day.
Four days later, Brizzi was captured on surveillance video buying items such as pincers, heavy-duty scissors, plastic buckets and carpet cleaner at a local store, according to the Guardian. Semple's body was found after Brizzi's neighbors complained of a foul smell coming from his flat. Remains were found in the bathtub and in the plastic buckets, the Guardian reported.
Investigators think Brizzi tried to eat parts of the officer's remains. "Pools of human fat" were found in the oven, the Independent reported, and Semple's DNA was found on chopsticks and a cooking pot.
Police also found a mask, a dog leash with Semple's DNA and a copy of the satanic bible in Brizzi's apartment, the Independent reported.
Brizzi had made conflicting statements to authorities about Semple's death.
After he was arrested, he said he killed Semple and dissolved his remains because Satan told him to do so, according to the Independent. He told police that he "was right in the middle" of strangling Semple when a man, who arrived for a sex party organized on Grindr, knocked on his door, the Independent reported.
But he had also claimed that the police officer was accidentally killed during a “sex game gone wrong,” one that involved Semple being accidentally strangled by a dog leash, according to the BBC.
A jury, however, decided that Semple's death was not an accident. Authorities think Brizzi killed Semple after they had sex and dismembered his remains.
Brizzi, a crystal meth addict who had lost his job as a Web developer, admitted being inspired by "Breaking Bad," a crime drama about a high school chemistry teacher who turns to cooking methamphetamine after he is diagnosed with cancer. In one of the series's most unforgettable scenes, White, the protagonist, and Jesse Pinkman used acid to dissolve a drug dealer's body.
Shortly before Semple's killing, another British man was found guilty of murdering four men he met on Grindr. Stephen Port had denied all charges against him.
Brizzi was serving time at the Belmarsh prison in London. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an independent investigation into Brizzi's death.
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