Story at a glance
- Wayne Couzens was a Metropolitan police officer in the United Kingdom.
- He pleaded guilty to the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.
- Couzens was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday.
Wayne Couzens, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday in the United Kingdom.
“Sarah lost her life needlessly and cruelly and all the years of life she had yet to enjoy were stolen from her,” Everard’s family said, according to the BBC. “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.”
Everard, 33, was walking home from a friend’s house in London on March 3 when Couzens, a 48-year-old Metropolitan police officer, abducted, raped and murdered her. Couzens then burned Everard’s remains in a refrigerator before dumping her in a pond. Her boyfriend reported her missing the following day, and her body was found 50 miles away in a wooded area of Kent a week later.
“The misuse of a police officer’s role such as occurred in this case in order to kidnap, rape and murder a lone victim is of equal seriousness as a murder for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause,” Lord Justice Adrian Fulford said during sentencing. “All of these situations attack different aspects of the fundamental underpinnings of our democratic way of life.”
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The judge added that Couzens showed no “genuine contrition” and his actions were “warped, selfish, and brutal.”
Everard’s abduction, assault and killing sparked protests in the United Kingdom and outcry from countries worldwide, with scores of women taking to social media to note that Everard had done everything “right” as a woman walking alone — staying on a lit and main street, wearing bright clothing and not using headphones — and still fell victim to a violent crime.
Other women shared their own experiences being catcalled and assaulted, fears of walking alone and precautions they take to attempt to avoid such an attack.
Two weeks ago, 28-year-old Sabina Nessa was killed while walking to meet a friend in London in a similar attack. Koci Selamaj, 36, has been arrested and charged with her murder.
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