A MONSTER cop lured Sarah Everard into his car by handcuffing and arresting her on a fake Covid patrol before he raped and murdered her.
Wayne Couzens, 48, snatched the 33-year-old off the streets as she walked home from a friend's home in Clapham Common, South West London, on March 3.
Harrowing details of Sarah's murder were revealed for the first time today as the Met Police officer is sentenced for kidnap, rape and murder.
The Old Bailey heard how Couzens used his warrant card to lure Sarah into his car as she walked home by claiming he was on a Covid patrol.
Just five minutes later, terrified Sarah was driven for 80 miles from London to Kent at the start of a “lengthy ordeal” that was to lead “inexorably to her rape and murder".
Read our Wayne Couzens sentencing live blog for the latest updates…
- Joseph Gamp
Couzens to be sentenced tomorrow
Couzens, 48, will be sentenced tomorrow for the rape, kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard.
It comes after he snatched 33-year-old off the streets as she walked home from a friend's home in Clapham, South London.
Sarah's family faced the monster today in court as they gave heartbreaking impact statements.
- Joseph Gamp
Couzens' colleagues nicknamed him 'rapist'
Sick killer Waynes Couzens' was called "The Rapist" by work colleagues- yet he was still free to trap and murder Sarah Everard.
Experts have said a catalogue of errors allowed vile Couzens to kidnap, rape and murder the marketing executive.
The Old Bailey heard today that the monster cop's colleagues knew he was "attracted to violent sexual pornography" and an "incident" was reported in 2002.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has served 12 notices for allegations of misconduct to police officers investigating matters against Couzens before Sarah's murder.
- Joseph Gamp
Sarah was 'extremely intelligent and streetwise'
Sarah was described by a former boyfriend as "extremely intelligent, savvy and streetwise" the court heard today.
He said he could not envisage her getting into a car with someone she did not know "unless by force or manipulation", said the prosecutor.
Couzens had worked on uniformed Covid patrols in late January to enforce coronavirus regulations, so would have known what language to use to those who may have breached them, he continued.
He is thought to have been wearing his police belt with handcuffs and a rectangular black pouch, similar to a pepper spray holder, when he kidnapped Ms Everard as she walked home.
"The fact she had been to a friend's house for dinner at the height of the early 2021 lockdown made her more vulnerable to and more likely to submit to an accusation that she had acted in breach of the Covid regulations in some way," said Mr Little.
- Joseph Gamp
Sick Couzens continued normally after horrific murder
Vile killer Couzens treated himself to a hot chocolate with coconut milk and bakewell tart from Costa just hours after the murder.
The next morning, Couzens returned the rental car and chucked Sarah’s phone into a river in Sandwich, Kent.
He also bought petrol which he used to burn Sarah’s body before calling his vet to make an appointment for the family dog about “possible medication for separation anxiety”.
Sickeningly, Couzens even took his family to the woodland where he dumped Sarah’s body just four days after murdering her.
- Joseph Gamp
Mapped: Sarah's final walk
Wayne Couzens had prowled the streets for a victim before he spotted Sarah walking back from a friend's house in Clapham.
After stalking the marketing executive, Couzens got out of his rental car and was spotted on CCTV just a few feet from her.
The rapist cop, who was wearing his police belt containing handcuffs, can be seen producing his warrant card after claiming Sarah had breached Covid restrictions.
- Joseph Gamp
Couzens 'attracted to brutal porn', court hears
The police officer who kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard was "attracted to brutal sexual pornography", a court has heard.
Wayne Couzens, 48, wore his police belt with handcuffs and a rectangular black pouch, similar to a pepper spray holder, attached to it when he snatched the 33-year-old marketing executive on March 3.
Two people had earlier seen him wearing the kit and when asked about the equipment in a computer hardware shop, he joked he was into "kinky stuff", before telling the owner: "I am an undercover police officer."
In late January this year, Couzens worked with other officers on uniformed Covid patrols, enforcing coronavirus lockdown regulations.
"He was therefore aware of the regulations and what language to use to those who may have breached them," prosecutor Tom Little QC told Couzens's sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.
- Joseph Gamp
Couzens being sentenced for kidnap, rape & murder
Harrowing details of Sarah's murder were revealed for the first time today as the Met Police officer is sentenced for kidnap, rape and murder.
The Old Bailey heard how Couzens used his warrant card to lure Sarah into his car as she walked home by claiming he was on a Covid patrol.
Just five minutes later, terrified Sarah was driven for 80 miles from London to Kent at the start of a “lengthy ordeal” that was to lead “inexorably to her rape and murder".
- Joseph Gamp
What we know so far
- A couple saw Sarah Everard being kidnapped by Wayne Couzens and assumed it was ‘undercover arrest’
- Sarah Everard’s brave mum ‘haunted by the horror’ of daughter’s final hours as dad tells killer to face them in court
- Wayne Couzens handcuffed & ‘arrested’ Sarah Everard in ‘fake Covid patrol’ to kidnap her off street before murder
- Killer cop Wayne Couzens used his police belt to strangle Sarah Everard after luring her off street in fake arrest
- Wayne Couzens took family on ‘day out’ to woods after burning Sarah Everard’s body and let kids play near her remains
- Shocking CCTV shows moment Wayne Couzens lured Sarah Everard off street in staged fake Covid stop
Couzens visited Costa after sickening murder
Wayne Couzens treated himself to a hot chocolate with coconut milk and bakewell tart from Costa just hours after murdering Sarah.
The next morning, Couzens returned the rental car and chucked her phone into a river in Sandwich, Kent.
He also bought petrol which he used to burn Sarah's body before calling his vet to make an appointment for the family dog about "possible medication for separation anxiety".
- Joseph Gamp
Scotland Yard ‘sickened’ by Couzens’ crimes
Scotland Yard said in a statement ahead of the sentencing hearing: “We are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes which betray everything we stand for.
“Our thoughts are with Sarah’s family and her many friends. It is not possible for us to imagine what they are going through.
“We recognise his actions raise many questions and concerns but we will not be commenting further until the hearing is complete.”
- Joseph Gamp
Heartbreaking CCTV shows Sarah being stalked
HEARTBREAKING CCTV shows Sarah Everard being stalked by Wayne Couzens as he prowled the dark streets looking for a victim.
Sarah, 33, was walking back from a friend's house in Clapham Common on March 3 when she was lured into Wayne Couzens' car.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
Crime 'could warrant a whole life order'
Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick also attended court to hear how one of her own officers had abused his position and used his warrant card to kidnap Ms Everard "by fraud" before detaining her "by force".
Prosecutor Tom Little QC suggested the case was so exceptional and unprecedented that it could warrant a whole life order, meaning Couzens would die in jail.
Opening the facts of the case, he said Ms Everard's disappearance was one of the most widely publicised missing person investigations the country has ever seen.
After her body was discovered a week later, it became summarised on social media by the hashtag "she was just walking home", which did not completely describe what had happened, he said.
- Joseph Gamp
Couzens tried to blame Eastern European gang
Killer police officer Wayne Couzens claimed he had "no choice" but to kidnap Sarah Everard and hand her over to an Eastern European gang after he tried to "rip off" one of their call girls.
The 48-year-old made the false claims during an interview at his home in Deal, Kent, after he was arrested on March 9 2021.
Sitting on his sofa in handcuffs, wearing a white t-shirt and dark shorts, Couzens first claimed not to know 33-year-old Ms Everard when he was shown her photo.
He then said he was in "financial shit" and had been "leant on" by a gang to pick up girls for them.
In footage released by police, Couzens claims he had tried to "rip off" one of their call girls and the gang had approached him during another booking with her at the Burstin Hotel, in Folkestone.
- Joseph Gamp
No redemption for Couzens, says Sarah's father
Sarah Everard's father asked her murderer to face him in court, telling Wayne Couzens: "No punishment that you receive will ever compare to the pain and torture that you have inflicted on us."
Jeremy Everard, a professor of electronics at the University of York, stood in the witness box at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to read his victim impact statement.
He asked for a photo of "my beautiful daughter" to be shown on the court's big screen, adding: "she also had a beautiful mind", before turning to face Couzens.
The killer, 48, had sat hunched over throughout his sentencing hearing and Mr Everard calmly asked him: "Mr Couzens, please will you look at me."
Couzens, who is facing a possible whole life sentence after admitting Ms Everard's rape, kidnap and murder, raised his head slightly but did not make eye contact.
Mr Everard told Couzens "there can be no redemption" for what he has done.
"All my family want is Sarah back with us," he said.
- Joseph Gamp
‘Bright and beautiful’
Sarah’s family previously paid tribute to their “bright and beautiful daughter and sister”.
In a statement, they said: “Sarah was bright and beautiful – a wonderful daughter and sister.
“She was kind and thoughtful, caring and dependable. She always put others first and had the most amazing sense of humour.
“She was strong and principled and a shining example to us all.
“We are very proud of her and she brought so much joy to our lives.”
- Joseph Gamp
Haunted by the horror
Sarah Everard's mother said she is “haunted by the horror” of what happened to her daughter, describing the burning of her body as “the final insult”.
“Our lives will never be the same,” she said.
“We should be a family of five, but now we are four.
“Her death leaves a yawning chasm in our lives that cannot be filled.
“I yearn for her. I remember all the lovely things about her: she was caring, she was funny. She was clever, but she was good at practical things too. She was a beautiful dancer. She was a wonderful daughter.”
- Joseph Gamp
'How dare you take her from me'
Sarah's sister Katie broke down in tears and wept as she told Couzens: “How dare you take her from me?
“Take away her hopes and dreams. Her life. Children that will never be born. Generations that will never exist. Her future no longer exists.
“The future I was supposed to live with my sister no longer exists. You have ruined so many lives. Sarah is the very best person with so many people who love and cherish her.
“I want to speak to her and hug her and hear her laugh and go out for dinners and drinks and dancing.
“All those conversations we can never have. There were so many things I wanted to share with her – trips abroad, being each other’s bridesmaid, meeting her babies and being an aunty, growing old together and seeing who got the most wrinkles.
“We weren’t even halfway through our journey and you took it all away!”
- Joseph Gamp
'Will you please look at me?'
Ms Everard’s sister Katie also asked Couzens: “Will you please look at me?”
She said the family had to go to her flat in Brixton to pack up her “whole life”, with washing left hanging, half-sewn outfits and packages waiting to be opened when she got home.
“But she never got home because a predator – you – was on the loose. Prowling the streets for hours looking for his prey,” she told Couzens, reading her victim statement in court.
“My only hope is that she was in a state of shock and that she wasn’t aware of the disgusting things being done to her by a monster.”
- Joseph Gamp
Sarah's Dad asks killer to face him
Jeremy Everard, a professor of electronics at the University of York, stood in the witness box at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to read his victim impact statement.
“All my family want is Sarah back with us. No punishment that you receive will ever compare to the pain and torture that you have inflicted on us.
“You murdered our daughter and forever broke the hearts of her mother, father, brother, sister, family and her friends.
“Sarah had so much to look forward to and because of YOU this is now gone forever.
“She was saving to buy a house and looking forward to marriage and children. We were looking forward to having grandchildren. We loved being a part of Sarah’s world and expected her to have a full and happy life. The closest we can get to her now is to visit her grave every day.”
- Joseph Gamp
Scotland Yard 'sickened' by Couzens' crimes
Scotland Yard said in a statement ahead of the sentencing hearing: "We are sickened, angered and devastated by this man's crimes which betray everything we stand for.
"Our thoughts are with Sarah's family and her many friends. It is not possible for us to imagine what they are going through.
"We recognise his actions raise many questions and concerns but we will not be commenting further until the hearing is complete."
- Joseph Gamp
Free to kill
Gun cop Couzens, who joined the Met Police in 2018, was charged with kidnap and murder more than a week after Sarah first vanished when police swooped on his home in Deal, Kent.
The cop, who worked on the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command unit, had finished a shift earlier on the morning of March 3 and was not on duty at the time of Sarah's disappearance.
Despite wiping his phone, data on the device linked Couzens to the abduction and eventually the area where Sarah was found.
While in custody, former mechanic Couzens was twice taken to hospital with head injuries.
Questions are now mounting over why Couzens was even still on the force following a wave of indecent exposure claims made against him.
- Joseph Gamp
Court sketch: Sarah's mother faces Couzens
Ms Everard’s mother Susan, a charity worker, faced her daughter’s killer, telling the packed court she has been left “broken hearted” by what he has done.
“She was my precious little girl, our youngest child,” she said.
“The feeling of loss is so great it is visceral. And with the sorrow comes waves of panic at not being able to see her again. I can never talk to her, never hold her again, and never more be a part of her life.
“We have kept her dressing gown – it still smells of her and I hug that instead of her.”
Sarah Everardâs mother Susan, a charity worker, faced her daughterâs killer in court todayCredit: PA - Louis Allwood
Couple saw Sarah Everard being kidnapped and assumed it was ‘undercover arrest’
A couple saw Sarah Everard being snatched from the streets by a monster cop but assumed he was making an undercover arrest.
Wayne Couzens, 48, had stalked the 33-year-old as she made her way home from a pal's house in Clapham, South West London, on March 3.
He then ambushed her on the street by making a fake arrest after claiming she had breached Covid rules.
The Old Bailey heard today how a couple were driving past when they witnessed Sarah being put in Couzen's car and driven to her death.
Prosecutor Tom Little QC said: "Sarah Everard was compliant, with her head down and did not appear to be arguing."
- Louis Allwood
Couzens continued with life after horrific murder
He then treated himself to a hot chocolate with coconut milk and bakewell tart from Costa just hours after the murder.
The next morning, Couzens returned the rental car and chucked Sarah's phone into a river in Sandwich, Kent.
He also bought petrol which he used to burn Sarah's body before calling his vet to make an appointment for the family dog about "possible medication for separation anxiety".
Sickeningly, Couzens even took his family to the woodland where he dumped Sarah's body just four days after murdering her.
- Louis Allwood
WEB OF LIES
Couzens spun a web of lies after he was arrested – meaning Sarah's heartbroken family and the police never found out the real reason why he snatched and strangled Sarah.
He was painted today as a sex mad fiend despite portraying the image of a married dad-of-two and even contacted escorts and used a Match.com dating profile.
Bizarrely, Couzens claimed he kidnapped Sarah, who was a stranger to him, for a "gang of Eastern Europeans".
He was in debt by about £29,000 with additional credit card debt at the time he murdered Sarah.
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