Sarah Everard – Jailed police officer Wayne Couzens, who has admitted guilt, is expected to be sentenced on Thursday.
A serving British police officer falsely accused Sarah Everard of breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules, then handcuffed and arrested her before kidnapping and murdering the 33-year-old, a court has heard.
Wayne Couzens, 48, abducted Everard on March 3 while she was walking home from a friend’s house in south London. He has admitted to her kidnapping, raping and murdering her and is in custody in the United Kingdom’s top security Belmarsh jail.
At the beginning of a two-day sentencing hearing on Wednesday at London’s Central Criminal Court, prosecutor Tom Little said Couzens targeted Everard on the evening of her disappearance.
Couzens, who was part of the London Metropolitan Police’s (MET) elite diplomatic protection unit at the time, kidnapped her in a “false arrest” by “handcuffing her and showing his warrant card”, Little said.
Couzens then put her into a rental car he had hired “to kidnap and rape a lone woman”, he added.
A couple in a passing car witnessed the kidnapping but mistook it for an arrest by an undercover officer, Little said.
Everard was the victim of “deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation and fire”, Little said.
Couzen burned Everard’s body after killing her.
‘Sickened, angered, devastated
Everard’s body was found in woodland in Ashford, Kent, about 60 miles (97 kilometres) southeast of London, a week after she went missing.
Her case gripped the UK, triggering a national conversation about women’s safety on the streets.
A former boyfriend had given evidence that Everard was “savvy and streetwise” and would not have entered a car with a stranger except “by force or manipulation”, Little said.
“The fact she had been to a friend’s house for dinner at the height of the early 2021 lockdown made her more vulnerable to and more likely to submit to an accusation that she had acted in breach of the COVID regulations in some way,” he told the court.
Couzens sat in the dock on Wednesday, watched by members of Everard’s family, as the judge considered whether to hand him a whole-life jail term. The sentence is due to be announced on Thursday.
Demonstrators outside the court held banners with slogans criticising the police such as “Met Police Blood On Your Hands” and let off smoke flares.
Before the court hearing, the Met said in a statement, “We are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes, which betray everything we stand for.”
The force has sacked Couzens and admitted his actions “raise many questions and concerns”, but said it would not comment further until after the sentencing.
Wayne Couzens sentencing live: ‘Haunted and heartbroken’ mother of Sarah Everard addresses killer
Former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens is being sentenced at the Old Bailey for the murder of Sarah Everard, whose death sparked outrage and protests over the rates of violence against women.
Key points:
- Ex-Met Police officer Wayne Couzens being sentenced during two-day hearing at Old Bailey after admitting kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard
- Couzens ‘may have used COVID lockdown rules’ to arrest and handcuff murder victim
- Details of his lifestyle and dating profile emerge – as court hears he bought drinks from a petrol station after the murder and later took his family to the site he burned his victim’s body
- ‘Haunted and heartbroken’ mother of Ms Everard addresses killer in court
- The victim, 33, disappeared as she walked home in Clapham, south London, on 3 March – her body was found a week later in woodland in Kent
- The murder sparked protests over the rates of violence against women
- Live updates from the Old Bailey by David Mercer
Wayne Couzens to learn sentence tomorrow
The sentencing of Wayne Couzens for the murder of Sarah Everard was adjourned until Thursday.
The judge, Mr Justice Fulford, says he will pass his sentence at around 12-12.30pm after Couzens’s lawyer Jim Sturman QC has addressed the court.
Court hears arguments for Wayne Couzens to receive whole life prison term
Prosecutor Tom Little QC suggested the circumstances of Sarah Everard’s murder were so exceptional it could warrant a whole life sentence for her killer Wayne Couzens.
In the “unprecedented” case, Couzens abused his position as a police officer and used his warrant card to kidnap Ms Everard “by fraud” and then detain her “by force”, he says.
He adds there was “significant” planning and Ms Everard was alive for hours before she was raped and murdered.
Sarah Everard’s sister breaks down in tears as she addresses ‘monster’ Wayne Couzens
Sarah Everard’s sister Katie breaks down in tears in court as she brands Wayne Couzens “a monster”.
“You treated Sarah as if she was nothing,” Katie Everard told Couzens.
“Placed more emphasis on satisfying your sick disgusting perversions than on a life.
“You disposed of my sister’s body like it was rubbish.
“Fly-tipped her like she meant nothing.”
Katie Everard tells Couzens that her sister never got home “because a predator – you – was on the loose”.
“Prowling the streets for hours looking for his prey,” she adds.
“My only hope is that she was in a state of shock and that she wasn’t aware of the disgusting things being done to her by a monster.
“When you forced yourself upon and raped her. When you put your hands around her neck and strangled her.
“It disgusts me that you were the last person to touch her perfect body and violate her in the way you did.
“There is no punishment that you could receive that will ever compare to the pain you have caused us.
“We can never get Sarah back. The last moments of Sarah’s life play on my mind constantly. I am so disgusted and appalled.
“It terrifies me that you have such disregard for a person’s life. You have taken from me the most precious person. And I can never get her back.”
Sarah Everard’s father tells her killer: I can never forgive you
Sarah Everard’s father Jeremy demanded that her daughter’s killer look at him as he told Wayne Couzens: “I can never forgive you for what you have done.”
“The horrendous murder of my daughter, Sarah, is in my mind all the time and will be for the rest of my life,” he says.
“Sarah was handcuffed and unable to defend herself. This preys on my mind all the time.
“I can never forgive you for what you have done, for taking Sarah away from us.
“You burnt our daughter’s body – you further tortured us – so that we could not see her again. We did not know whether you had burnt her alive or dead.
“You stopped us seeing Sarah for one last time and stopped me from giving my daughter one last kiss goodbye.
“All my family want is Sarah back with us.
“No punishment that you receive will ever compare to the pain and torture that you have inflicted on us.
“You murdered our daughter and forever broke the hearts of her mother, father, brother, sister, family and her friends.
“Sarah had so much to look forward to and because of you this is now gone forever.”
Sarah Everard’s mother ‘repulsed’ by killer Wayne Couzens
Sarah Everard’s mother Susan is reading a statement to the court as her daughter’s killer Wayne Couzens sits in the dock.
Mrs Everard says: “Sarah is gone and I am broken hearted.
“She was my precious little girl, our youngest child. The feeling of loss is so great it is visceral.
“Sarah died in horrendous circumstances. I am tormented at the thought of what she endured.
“In her last hours she was faced with brutality and terror, alone with someone intent on doing her harm. The thought of it is unbearable. I am haunted by the horror of it.”
She adds: “I am repulsed by the thought of Wayne Couzens and what he did to Sarah.
“I am outraged that he masqueraded as a policeman in order to get what he wanted.
“Sarah wanted to get married and have children, now all that has gone.
“He took her life and stole her future and we will never have the joy of sharing that future with her.”
Wayne Couzens deliberately hit head on toilet while in custody, court hears
After being arrested on suspicion of the murder of Sarah Everard, Wayne Couzens deliberately hit his head on the toilet bowl in his cell, suffering a cut to his head, shortly before he was about to be interviewed, the court hears.
An ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital for treatment.
He was placed under constant supervision when he returned to the police station, the court heard.
Sarah Everard’s blood found in Wayne Couzens’s car, court hears
The court hears several items were recovered from Wayne Couzens’s Seat car.
They included a broken fragment of Sarah Everard’s mobile SIM card, three clear plastic gloves in the driver’s door, a handcuff key, two black-coloured Velcro straps attached to one another to form a loop, a craft knife, a head torch on an elasticated band, an unused condom, several hairbands and a sachet of lubricating jelly.
Prosecutor Tom Little QC says Couzens bought a similar pack of hairbands from a Tesco store on the evening he kidnapped Ms Everard “for the purposes of the planned kidnap and rape”, possibly to maintain an erection or to restrain her.
A blood stain was found on a rear passenger seat which matched Ms Everard’s DNA, the court hears.
Semen which matched Couzens’s DNA was also found on the back seat, the hearing is told.
The hire car that Couzens used to abduct Ms Everard had cleaned after it was returned and no evidence was found, Mr Little says.
Wayne Couzens burned Sarah Everard’s body in fly-tipped fridge, court hears
Evidence of some of Sarah Everard’s remains and clothing were found in a fridge in which her body was burned in woodland, the court hears.
Prosecutor Tom Little QC says Wayne Couzens, who owned land near to where he dumped Ms Everard’s body, could not have missed the number of items that had been fly-tipped in the area, including the fridge he used.
Evidence of the clothing found strongly supports that Ms Everard was not wearing her top, coat and leggings when her body was burned, he adds.
Couzens must have moved the fridge several times to conceal Ms Everard, burn her body and then remove the remains which were left in a pond, the prosecutor says.
Wayne Couzens told psychiatrist he used belt to strangle Sarah Everard, court hears
Police searched Hoad’s Wood in Kent and Sarah Everard’s burnt remains were found in two builders’ bags in a pond on 10 March, the court hears.
A pathologist concluded that Ms Everard’s cause of death was “consistent with compression to the neck”, the Old Bailey is told.
Prosecutor Tom Little QC says Couzens had told a psychiatrist he strangled Ms Everard with a belt.
“Given all the circumstances this would be consistent with his police belt,” he added.
In the public gallery, friends and family of Ms Everard listened impassively to the evidence.
Wayne Couzens told police he had ‘no choice’ but to kidnap Sarah Everard – as items recovered from his home are revealed
Wayne Couzens told police he had “no choice” but to kidnap Sarah Everard for a human trafficking gang which had threatened his family, the court hears.
Asked by detectives in his home where Ms Everard was, Couzens repeatedly said he did not know and that “if I could do something to get her back right this minute, I would”, but added: “I’ll do it again tomorrow if it meant saving my family… these guys meant business.”
Couzens was taken to Wandsworth police station where he claimed scratch marks on his head were caused by his dog.
Police seized items from Couzens’s home including a penis pump, a roll of adhesive film, a petrol can, boxes of latex gloves, a police badge and plastic cuffs.
Sentencing of Wayne Couzens resumes
The sentencing of Wayne Couzens for the murder of Sarah Everard has resumed after a lunch break.
The court is played police footage showing detectives speaking to Couzens after he is arrested in his home in Deal, Kent on 9 March.
In a dimly lit room, Couzens is sat on a chair in handcuffs looking towards the floor and can be seen nodding as detectives speak to him.
Details of Wayne Couzens’ arrest revealed in court
The court hears that CCTV footage emerged on 9 March which identified the car used in the kidnap of Sarah Everard.
Officers found out it was a hire car and that it had been taken out by Wayne Couzens, a serving Met Police officer, the Old Bailey is told.
Police attended his house at about 5.45pm on 9 March but did not approach the property. Shortly after 7pm, Couzens had re-set his mobile phone to factory settings.
Two detectives then visited the house at 7.45pm and Couzens was arrested on suspicion of Ms Everard’s kidnap, the court hears.
Couzens – who offered no resistance – was shown a photo of Ms Everard and initially denied knowing her, claiming he only knew of her disappearance from watching the news, prosecutor Tom Little says.
He then told detectives he was “in financial s***” and that he had been “leant on” by a gang to pick up girls for them, the prosecutor adds.
Couzens claimed he initially refused, but when they threatened to take his family and use them instead, he felt he had no choice but to comply, Mr Little says.
The sentencing hearing is adjourned for lunch and will resume at 2pm.
Wayne Couzens ‘took family trip’ to woodland where he dumped Sarah Everard’s body, court hears
Wayne Couzens bought two builders’ bags from a B&Q store in Dover on the afternoon of 5 March before driving to Hoad’s Wood, the court hears.
Prosecutor Tom Little says that while Couzens was in the wood he must have “moved Sarah Everard’s heavily burnt body from where he had set fire to it, to the pond where she was subsequently found” using the bags he bought from B&Q.
On 6 March, he made a number of purchases from Amazon, including a blue tarpaulin sheet and bungee cargo net, to be delivered the following day.
On the morning of 7 March, Couzens and his wife and two children visited Hoad’s Wood – stopping at a service station on the way that he had previously visited after raping and murdering Ms Everard, the court hears.
Mr Little says: “It follows that the defendant took his family on a family trip to the very woods where days earlier he had left Sarah Everard’s body, then returned to burn it and then returned again to move it and hide it.”
He adds that Couzens allowed his children “to play in relatively close proximity” to where Ms Everard’s body had been dumped in the pond.
The court hears that Couzens was on five days’ leave from work, he had emailed his supervisor to say he felt “unable to carry firearms”
Witness saw fire at site where Sarah Everard’s body was burnt
A witness saw a “large orange and yellow flame” in Hoad’s Wood in Kent at around 12.45pm on 5 March, the court hears.
Prosecutor Tom Little QCs says: “This is consistent with the location where the defendant burnt Sarah Everard’s body, clothing and possessions using the petrol he had purchased earlier that day.”
Ms Everard’s body had been put in a fridge and set alight, the court hears.
Later that afternoon Couzens called a vet to make an appointment for the family dog about “possible medication for separation anxiety”.
An audio recording of the call is played to the court.
Sarah Everard was ‘handcuffed and powerless’
A senior investigator on Sarah Everard’s case, former DCI Simon Harding, tells Sky’s Martin Brunt he “can’t bear thinking” what she was going through as Wayne Couzens drove her towards Dover after a false arrest.
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