UK police officer pleads guilty to Sarah Everard's murder

[July 09, 2021]  By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - A British police officer on Friday admitted murdering Sarah Everard whose killing sparked anger and soul-searching across the country about what police, government and society can do to stop male violence against women.

Wayne Couzens, 48, a London officer who guarded diplomatic premises, had previously admitted rape and kidnap.

Everard, 33, was abducted as she walked home from a friend's house in south London on March 3 and her body was later found in woodland around 50 miles away in southeast England.

A post-mortem last month concluded she had died as a result of compression of the neck.

Appearing by videolink from prison for a hearing at London's Old Bailey Court, Couzens, bearded and wearing a blue sweatshirt sat head bowed and said "guilty ma'am" when asked how he pleaded to the charge of murder
 

Prosecutor Tom Little said the officer had never met Everard prior to kidnapping her from London's South Circular road and were "total strangers".

Little said it might not be possible to determine exactly what had happened, and the judge Adrian Fulford said Couzens had previously only given an entirely false account of events.

"This has been a mammoth investigation which has produced some very significant results in terms of being able to understand what happened," Fulford said.

People observe a memorial site at the Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain, March 21, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

Couzens' lawyer James Sturman said his client's pleas represented "truly genuine guilt and remorse for what he did."

"As he put it to us this morning he will bear this burden for the rest of his life, and he deserves to - his words 'and I deserve to'. He accepts the victims in this case are the Everard family and friends, not him," Sturman told the court.

A two-day sentencing hearing, which will consider psychiatric reports, will begin on Sept. 29.

Everard's murder provoked outpourings of anger from women who have recounted their own experiences and fears of walking the streets on their own at night, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to promise action including money for better street lighting.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by William James and Toby Chopra)

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