Horror story
The missed opportunities to halt Couzens in his tracks
Unknown date
While he is in his early 20s, Couzens is suspected of committing a “very serious sexual assault of a child barely in her teens”.
1995
Couzens kidnaps a woman at knifepoint in north London. The incident is reported to police but the perpetrator is never caught. The woman comes forward after seeing photographs of Couzens following the murder of Sarah Everard.
2002
Couzens joins the Kent Special Constabulary, left.
Summer 2004
Allegation that Couzens masturbated in front of a teenage girl in south London while driving. The Met is made aware of the offence in March 2021.
2006/07
Couzens is suspected of attempting to rape a woman at a singles night at a bar in east London. The victim comes forward after the murder of Ms Everard.
Nov 21 2008
Couzens exposes himself to a woman in south London. The offence is reported but no suspect is identified.
June 9 2015
Kent Police allegedly fail to investigate an indecent exposure incident linked to Couzens. A member of the public informs the force a man drove past him in Dover wearing no clothing from the waist down.
September 2018
Couzens transfers to the Met Police from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary where he worked from 2011.
October 2019
Couzens is accused of rape under a bridge in London.
2019
Couzens sexually assaults a man in a bar in Kent. The complainant is in drag and wearing a blonde wig. Couzens says he is a police officer and invites him outside to perform a sex act.
2019
Couzens and his wife buy a small area of woodland in Ashford, Kent.
February 2020
Couzens moves to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
Nov 13 2020
In Deal, Kent, (where he lives, above) he steps out of a woodland area naked and masturbates as a woman cycles past.
Between Jan 22 and Feb 1 2021
Couzens exposes himself to a female employee at a drive-through restaurant in Kent.
Between Jan 30 and Feb 6 2021
He exposes himself to another female employee at a drive-through.
Feb 3 2021
Another indecent exposure incident.
Feb 14 and Feb 27 2021
Couzens again exposes himself to two female staff members at a drive-through fast food restaurant in Kent. He uses his own credit card to pay and drives his own car. The second incident is caught on CCTV, above left.
Feb 28 2021
Couzens books a white Vauxhall Crossland from a car hire firm in Dover, Kent, using his own details and bank card.
March 3 2021
Then-met Pc Samantha Lee goes to the fast food restaurant but does not trace Couzens’ car, despite the restaurant manager claiming his registration number is visible in CCTV footage. She is later sacked and barred from working as a police officer.
March 3 2021
Couzens uses his status as a police officer to trick Ms Everard into thinking she can be arrested for breaking lockdown rules. After murdering her, Couzens hides her body in woodland near Ashford.
March 9 2021
Couzens’s phone is wiped of all data about 40 minutes before he is arrested on suspicion of murder. In a brief interview, he tells a false story about being threatened by an eastern European gang.
July 9 2021
Couzens pleads guilty to murder when he appears at the Old Bailey by video link from Belmarsh high security jail.
Sept 30 2021
Couzens receives a whole life order when he is sentenced, with Lord Justice Fulford justifying the punishment because the murderer’s use of his position as a police officer to detain Ms Everard was the “vital factor”.
October 2021
Couzens applies for leave to appeal against his sentence.
March 2022
Couzens is charged with four counts of indecent exposure over alleged incidents in January and February 2021.
July 2022
The Court of Appeal rejects his appeal against his sentence.
Feb 13 2023
Couzens pleads guilty to three counts of indecent exposure in Kent between November 2020 and February 2021.
March 6 2023
He is sentenced to 19 months for the offences, left, although he is already serving a whole life jail term for Ms Everard’s murder and will never be released.