‘Couzens must have attacked before’
THE DETECTIVE who hunted down one of Britain’s most notorious criminals said he would be stunned if killer policeman Wayne Couzens had not claimed more victims.
Ex-met police murder squad boss Jim Dickie is convinced Couzens’s killing of Sarah Everard bears the hallmarks of a man who had struck before.
He described it as “one of the most horrendous crimes” he has come across, despite a 30-year career in the police.
And he said there are clear comparisons with serial offenders like twisted killer and rapist John Cannan, the prime suspect in the case of missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh back in 1986.
Couzens, 48, was involved in several incidents of a sexual nature as far back as 2002. He was addicted to violent porn and spent thousands on prostitutes.
And he was being investigated for indecent exposure in the days before he staged an arrest, abducted, raped, then strangled 33-year-old Sarah.
Mr Dickie said: “His actions that night strongly suggest this was a pattern of behaviour. It’s one that fits that of a serial rapist.
“In my opinion he is up there with John Cannan or any other serial rapist and killer you can name. But the only way we will find out if there are other victims is if people come forward
“Up until quite recently I was still getting reports about Cannan’s behaviour, so it could take many years for anyone targeted by Couzens to find the courage to come forward.
“I would say, almost definitely,
Couzens has done the same or certainly attempted the same before he killed.”
Cannan, 67, was given three life sentences for the murder of Shirley Banks in Bristol in October 1987, the attempted kidnapping of Julia Holman, two other rapes and several other abductions, attempted abductions and sexual offences.
Suzy Lamplugh vanished after going to meet a man calling himself “Mr Kipper”. Cannan remains the only suspect but has never
been charged.
Former Det Supt Dickie has worked on high-profile cases including Jane Andrews, the Duchess ofyork’s ex-dresser who was jailed in 2001 for murdering her lover,tom Cressman. Mr Dickie also led the re-investigation into the Lamplugh case.
Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has faced calls to resign over her handling of the Couzens case.
But Mr Dickie, who worked alongside Dame Cressida, urged the public not to rush to judgment amid claims Couzens may have been protected by colleagues.
“I would find it incredible if a serving police officer knew anything of his behaviour and not have reported it earlier,” he said.
“I’m not sure the warning signs were there for his colleagues. If the inquiry finds differently they have serious questions to answer.”
And on calls for the Met commissioner to quit, he said: “I think she is a very astute and intelligent individual who has only the interests of Londoners at heart. I think the way she is being portrayed is outrageous.
“Any commissioner would find it difficult in these circumstances.”