A kind United Kingdom The police confessed to the murder of a 33-year-old woman on Friday who was kidnapped while returning home from a friend’s house in south London.
Wayne Cowsons Previously admitted kidnapping and rape Sarah Everard, A marketing executive, disappeared on March 3. Couzens pleaded guilty to murder at a hearing at the Central Criminal Court in London, which appeared via a video link from Belmarsh High Security Prison.
After Everard disappeared, the police launched a major investigation. A week later, her body was found in woodland more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of London.
The Chief of Police of London defended the police officer’s actions during Sarah Everard’s vigil clash
The search for Everard and the news of her death caused a national outcry, with women sharing experiences of being threatened, assaulted, or facing daily fears of violence while just walking alone.
Police in the British capital were criticized after some women who participated in the Everard vigil were detained for violating coronavirus restrictions.
Couzens, 48, joined the London Metropolitan Police in 2018 and recently served in the Parliament and Diplomatic Protection Command, an armed force responsible for guarding the capital and parliament embassies.
Prosecutor Tom Little said that Couzens kidnapped a completely stranger Everard in a rented car a few hours after he completed a 12-hour police shift. Her body was found in the woods near a piece of land owned by Couzens. Despite his plea, the prosecutor said Couzens did not disclose where he raped and killed Everard.
“We still don’t know what drove him to commit this appalling crime against a stranger,” said Caroline Oakley of the Crown Prosecution Service. “Today is not the day to hear the facts about what happened to Sarah. Today is a day to commemorate Sarah. Our thoughts are still with her family and friends.”
Couzens will be sentenced at a two-day hearing that begins on September 29.
The police force expressed shock and horror at his crimes, but faced an investigation by the police supervision agency to investigate how it handled the allegations of indecent exposure to Couzens a few days before Efrad was kidnapped.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said that she had told Everard’s family, “I am very sorry for their loss, pain and suffering.”
“All of us in the metropolis are disgusted, angry and shocked by this man’s truly terrible crimes,” she said. “Everyone in the police feels betrayed.”
© 2021 Canadian Press
