Murder of Sarah Everard
On the evening of 3 March 2021, 33-year-old Sarah Everard was kidnapped in South London, England, as she was walking home to the Brixton Hill area from a friend's house near Clapham Common. She was stopped by off-duty Metropolitan Police constable Wayne Couzens who identified himself as a police officer, handcuffed her, and placed her in his car before driving her to near Dover where he raped and strangled her, before burning her body and disposing of her remains in a nearby pond.
| Murder of Sarah Everard | |
|---|---|
Sarah Everard | |
| Location | Kent, England |
| Date | c. 3 March 2021 |
Attack type | Murder by strangulation, rape, kidnapping |
| Victim | Sarah Everard |
| Perpetrator | Wayne Couzens |
| Verdict | Pleaded guilty to all 3 counts |
| Convictions | Murder, kidnapping, rape
|
| Sentence | Life imprisonment (whole life order) |
On 9 March 2021, Couzens was arrested in Deal, Kent, first on suspicion of Everard's kidnapping and later on suspicion of her murder. Everard's remains were discovered in woodland near Ashford, Kent on 10 March; following their identification, Couzens was charged with her kidnapping and murder.
Vigils were held for Everard on the evening of 13 March. The vigil on Clapham Common, near where she had disappeared, led to a controversial police response and four arrests for breaches of COVID-19 regulations. The murder gave rise to widespread debate about the role of police in British society and women's safety in the UK.
On 8 June 2021, Couzens pleaded guilty to Everard's kidnapping and rape, and admitted responsibility for her death. On 9 July, he pleaded guilty to her murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order on 30 September 2021.