The London police officer arrested for the kidnapping, rape, and killing of 33-year-old Sarah Everard pleaded responsible to her homicide on Friday in a criminal offense that despatched shockwaves via the UK.
Wayne Couzens, the 48-year-old former Metropolitan Police officer, had already admitted to kidnapping and rape, having pleaded guilty to the costs on June 8. On the time, he additionally admitted he “was accountable for her killing,” however didn’t enter a plea on the homicide cost, prosecutors stated.
On Friday, officers introduced Couzens had pleaded responsible to homicide and will likely be sentenced on Sept. 29.
“This plea is because of quite a lot of onerous work by the prosecution group,” stated Carolyn Oakley of the Crown Prosecution Service. “The police needs to be recommended for his or her thorough and tireless investigation into Sarah’s disappearance.”
Everard, a London-based advertising and marketing govt, disappeared on the evening of March 3 whereas strolling residence from a good friend’s home. Couzens was arrested days later, and Everard’s physique was present in a wooded space greater than 50 miles from the place she’d final been seen. An post-mortem revealed the reason for loss of life to be compression of the neck.
The younger girl’s loss of life set off a tidal wave of grief and anger within the UK. On-line, many ladies spoke out about gendered violence and the dearth of security they typically really feel simply going about their lives. A peaceable vigil in London held shortly after the homicide drew hundreds, however police met it with pressure, arresting 4 girls and igniting even deeper fury towards the identical establishment that employed Everard’s killer.
In a press conference on Friday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick stated she and all the police pressure are “sickened, angered, and devastated” by Everard’s homicide and “really feel betrayed” that it was dedicated by one among their very own.
“Sarah was a improbable, proficient younger girl together with her entire life forward of her, and that has been snatched away,” Dick stated. “She was massively beloved, and he or she will likely be sorely missed by so very many individuals.”
It’s nonetheless unknown why Couzens murdered Everard. In court docket, prosecutor Tom Little stated that they had by no means met and have been “complete strangers to one another,” in accordance with the BBC.
He had beforehand concocted an elaborate lie to clarify the occasions, the BBC reported, falsely claiming an Japanese European gang threatened his household and compelled him to kidnap Everard.
However the true motive for the brutal crime, if such a motive even exists, stays a thriller.
“Couzens lied to the police when he was arrested and up to now, he has refused to remark,” Oakley stated. “We nonetheless have no idea what drove him to commit this appalling crime towards a stranger.”
