The British police officer who kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard will spend the rest of his life behind bars, after a judge handed down a whole life order on Thursday.
The sentence is the most severe in the U.K, with the judge saying the harrowing case, that prompted protests over violence against women, was “devastating, tragic and wholly brutal”.
The judge said Sarah Everard was “an intelligent, resourceful, talented and much-loved young woman, still in the early years of her life”.
Wayne Couzens, who had been part of the London Metropolitan Police, abducted 33-year-old Sarah Everard as she walked home from a friend’s house in March 2020, with the court hearing he probably used his position as a police officer to falsely arrest her. Couzens drove Everard south of London, where he raped and strangled her, before burning her body and dumping her remains.
Lord Justice Fulford, who handed down the life sentence without parole to Couzens, said that COVID-19 restrictions were likely his pretext for stopping her in the street, using his warrant card to handcuff her and force her into a car he had rented.
“First and foremost, Sarah Everard was a wholly blameless victim of a grotesquely executed series of offences that culminated in her death and the disposal of her body,” Fulford said.
“I have not the slightest doubt that the defendant used his position as a police officer to coerce her on a wholly false pretext into the car he had hired for this purpose. It is most likely that he suggested to Sarah Everard that she had breached the restrictions on movement that were being enforced during that stage of the pandemic,” Fulford said.
Lord Justice Fulford told Couzens in court that his crimes against Everard had shattered her family, and wider society, eroding trust in police and stoking fears women felt regarding violence.
“You have very considerably added to the sense of insecurity that many have living in our cities, perhaps particularly women, when travelling by themselves and especially at night,” he said.
Couzens’ whole of life sentence leaves no space for parole, meaning he will die in jail. The judge said his abuse of his position as a police officer means the court treated his crimes as seriously as murder carried out for a terrorist motive.
“There was significant planning and premeditation. The victim was abducted, there was the most serious sexual conduct, the defendant was responsible for significant mental and physical suffering which he inflicted on the victim before her death, and the defendant concealed and attempted to destroy Sarah Everard’s body,” the judge said.
Sarah Everard’s family said in a statement: “Sarah lost her life needlessly and cruelly and all the years of life she had yet to enjoy were stolen from her. Wayne Couzens held a position of trust as a police officer and we are outraged and sickened that he abused this trust in order to lure Sarah to her death. The world is a safer place with him imprisoned.
“It is almost seven months since Sarah died and the pain of losing her is overwhelming. We miss her all the time. We hold her safe in our hearts.”
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence or sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT. In an emergency, call 000.
The Men’s Referral Service can be contacted on 1300 766 491.