COVER STORY ‘Sarah will forever be in our hearts – she will never fade away’
It was the murder that shook the country – and on 9 July, Wayne Couzens pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah Everard. Bella looks at the details of the tragic case
Sarah Everard was a “beautiful, thoughtful, incredibly kind” woman who lived and worked in London and had a lively social life. She loved music, regularly attending festivals, and along with her boyfriend Josh, was looking forward to the relaxation of lockdown restrictions. They had already booked a holiday to Ibiza for later this summer.
But on 3 March this year, 33-year-old Sarah was walking home to Brixton, south London, after spending an evening at her friend’s house. Sarah left at 9pm and followed a popular route between Clapham and Brixton, which was still busy with traffic. She should have reached home within 50 minutes, but tragically, she never made it.
While Sarah was walking home, Wayne Couzens, 48, a diplomatic protection officer, was looking for a victim as he drove around south London in a white Vauxhall Astra, which he’d hired earlier that day, after completing a 12-hour shift with the Metropolitan Police.
Sarah ended a call with Josh at 9.28pm, when she was less than a mile from her flat. At 9.35pm, a bus camera image showed Sarah
standing with Couzens, who she had never met. The pair were beside his car, with its hazard lights flashing. By the time another bus drove past three minutes later, they had disappeared into the car, and the front and passenger doors were open. Police sources reportedly suspect Couzens presented Sarah with his warrant card, as during the height of lockdown, police were questioning people who were out. Once she was in Couzens’ car, he drove back through south London towards Kent, where he lived with his wife and two children.
At some point after kidnapping Sarah on that fateful night, Couzens
raped her, strangled her to death, and transferred her into his own vehicle, before driving home to his family and returning the rental car at 8.30am the next morning.
The following day, as news of Sarah’s disappearance spread on social media and missing posters lined trees and lampposts, Couzens told work that he was suffering with stress, and at 2pm that afternoon, he bought two green rubble bags from B&Q in Dover. Then, on 6 March, Couzens emailed his Met supervisor to say he no longer wanted to carry a firearm, and he ordered a tarpaulin and a bungee cargo net from Amazon.
While police officers visited local homes and searched Clapham Common and surrounding areas, Couzens, who was on pre-arranged leave from the Met, repeatedly returned to the crime scene and began trying to dispose of Sarah’s body in a woodland over 50 miles away in Hothfield, Kent. Couzens burnt Sarah’s body among piles of dumped rubbish.
On 8 March, Couzens called in sick to work, and at 7.11pm the following evening, he wiped the data from his phone, before being arrested at his home at 7.50pm. When questioned by police, Couzens spouted far-fetched lies, telling officers he’d been threatened by a gang who’d hurt his family if he didn’t deliver them “another girl”, after he’d underpaid their sex workers. Police searched Couzens’ family home before finding Sarah’s body hours later in woodland. Her remains were hidden in a rubble bag deposited in a stream, and she was identified by dental records.
There was an outpouring of grief for Sarah and her family from all over the country. Thousands of women shared their all-too-common experiences of male violence, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “The death of Sarah Everard must unite us in determination to drive out violence against women and girls, and make every part of the
criminal justice system work to protect and defend them.”
In June, Couzens admitted to the rape and kidnap of Sarah, and one month later, he appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from Belmarsh prison, where he sat with his head bowed and sobbed. In court, it emerged that Couzens had planned to abduct a victim for days before accosting Sarah. Sarah’s parents, Jeremy and Susan Everard, listened to Couzens admit his crime. His barrister Jim Sturman QC told the court Couzens had “genuine guilt and remorse for what he did” and that he’d bear the burden for the rest of his life. Couzens will be sentenced in September.
Afterwards, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick apologised to Sarah’s family, telling them, “All of us in the Met are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s truly dreadful crimes. Everyone in policing feels betrayed.” She added, “Sarah was a fantastic, talented young woman with her whole life ahead of her, and that has been snatched away.”
In a public statement, Jeremy and Susan described the youngest of their children as “bright and beautiful – a wonderful daughter and sister”, as well as “strong and principled and a shining example to us all”. They added, “We are very proud of her, and she brought so much joy to our lives.”
Sarah’s cousin Marlene Smith, 56, said, “She was just such a lovely person, very effervescent and outgoing. Such a kind, loving person. She was so young and innocent, and it’s still hard to believe this has happened to our family. Last month would have been her 34th birthday. The grief is still overwhelming.”
Marlene added that all the family can do is to remember her with love. She said, “Sarah will forever be in our hearts. She will never fade away. It’s a huge loss and terrible to know what she might have endured.”