Metropolitan PC pleads guilty to murder of Sarah Everard
The ASERVING police officer pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard at a hearing today that revealed how he had planned to kidnap a woman from the streets.
Metropolitan Police Constable Wayne Couzens filed his plea in the Old Bailey after previously admitting to the rape and kidnapping of Ms. Everard.
This came after the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced that 12 officers have been served felony misconduct or misconduct notices in cases related to the case.
Ms Everard was kidnapped on 3 March on her way home from a friend's house in south London.
The body of the 33-year-old was recovered a week later from woodland near Ashford in Kent, a few meters from the land he bought with his wife in 2019.
He booked a rental car and bought a roll of self-adhesive film a few days before the murder, the court heard.
After finishing the 12-hour shift the afternoon of the kidnapping, he picked up the car, and drove around before seeing Ms. Everard.
The two did not know each other before the kidnapping.
The police identified the constable as a suspect after inquiring about the hired vehicle, which he had booked with his bank card and details.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Mr Couzens initially denied killing Everard when he was first interviewed by police as part of an elaborate false story to shift the blame.
The officer claimed that she had kidnapped Ms Everard for an Eastern European gang outside London after they threatened to harm her family.
Mr Couzens claimed he was unable to pay for a sex worker so he was ordered to find "another girl" otherwise his family would suffer.
Prosecutor Carolyn Oakley said: "Wayne Couzens lied to police when he was arrested and to date, he has declined to comment.
"We still don't know what motivated him to commit this terrible crime against a stranger."
Mr Couzens, who appeared via video link from Belmarsh Prison, is now facing a mandatory life sentence.
The IOPC revealed that Mr. Couzens was charged with indecent exposure until 2015.
It has launched an investigation into the Kent Police for failing to investigate the claim. No notice has yet been given for this investigation.
The IOPC said two weather officials are also being investigated for allegedly failing to look into claims of indecent exposure by Mr. Coogens days before the murder.
While 10 other officers are under investigation for sharing information related to prosecution on a messaging app.
Ms Everard's death sparked a national debate and sparked protests over women's safety.
Responding to the hearing, Retrieve These Streets said: "It is shameful that if women get any justice it is only when they have already been snatched from us."
