LONDON
\nA serving London police officer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a woman he tricked into his car using his police identification and COVID-19 laws.
\nWayne Couzens, 48, was accused of falsely arresting 33-year-old Sarah Everard for violating lockdown restrictions as she walked home from visiting a friend in south London on March 3. Prosecutors said he handcuffed Everard, drove her far outside the city, and then raped and killed her.
\nCouzens had pleaded guilty to the charges.
\nIn handing down the sentence, Justice Adrian Fulford said Couzens misused his role as police officer and the circumstances of the case were \u201cdevastating, tragic and wholly brutal.\u201d Couzens went \u201chunting a lone female to kidnap and rape,\u201d having planned the crime in \u201cunspeakably\u201d grim detail, the judge said.
\nThe seriousness of the case was so \u201cexceptionally high\u201d that it warranted a whole life sentence, Fulford added. The sentence means that Couzens will die in prison with no chance of parole.
\nThe body of Everard, a marketing executive, was found in woodland in Ashford, Kent, about 60 miles (nearly 100 kilometers) southeast of London, a week after she went missing. Prosecutors said Couzens strangled her with his police belt before setting fire to the body.
\nCouzens joined the Metropolitan Police in 2018 and had worked as part of a team protecting diplomatic locations in central London. He had worked an overnight shift at the US Embassy on the day he kidnapped Everard.
\nEverhard\u2019s slaying and the officer\u2019s arrest shocked the nation and raised questions about trust in police. London\u2019s Metropolitan Police department has said it was \u201csickened, angered and devastated\u201d by how one of its own was responsible for the crime.
\nIn the aftermath of Everard\u2019s killing, many questions were raised about trust in police and how police vet their officers. Some also criticized Scotland Yard for not doing enough to protect women and girls and tackle allegations of sexual violence.
\nAfter Couzens\u2019 arrest, it emerged that he had been accused of indecent exposure at least twice before he murdered Everard, and police is being investigated over whether the allegations were dealt with properly.
\nThe case touched a nerve with women particularly because Everard was abducted while walking home along well-lit areas of Clapham and Brixton \u2014 urban, busy areas of the capital frequented by scores of women and girls every day.
\nLabour Party lawmaker Harriet Harman renewed calls for Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police\u2019s first female chief, to step down to allow for the implementation of urgent reforms, including the immediate suspension of officers accused of violence against women.
\n\u201cWomen need to be confident that the police are there to make them safe, not to put them at risk,\u201d Harman wrote in a letter to Dick. \u201cWomen need to be able to trust the police, not to fear them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON A serving London police officer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a woman he tricked into his car using his police identification and COVID-19 laws. Wayne Couzens, 48, was accused of falsely arresting 33-year-old Sarah Everard for violating lockdown restrictions as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n