Wayne Couzens, a former police officer, has been given a full life prison sentence for the murder of Sarah Everard in 2021. Couzens, who used his position to lure Sarah into his car under false pretenses, was living in Deal with his family at the time of the crime.
He had previously worked as a mechanic before joining the Metropolitan Police in 2018. Sarah went missing in March 2021 while walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham.
Her body was later found in a woodland in Ashford, Kent, and post-mortem results showed she had been raped. Couzens was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole due to his actions.
He is currently serving his sentence at HMP Frankland in Durham. Couzens’ disturbing history of crimes, including attempting to kidnap a woman at knifepoint, raping two women, and sexually assaulting a young girl, has highlighted the need for action to address violence against women and the urgent need for reforms within the Met Police.
Lord Justice Fulford stated that Couzens’ abuse of power as a police officer was a significant factor in his sentencing. Couzens’ appeal against his sentence was rejected, and he was later given an additional 19 months in prison for other indecent exposure offenses.
The Angiolini Inquiry report highlighted the alarming findings of Couzens’ past offenses and the significant failings that allowed him to become a police officer.
