JAKARTA - An officer of the Metropolitan Police, London, England was sentenced to life on Thursday for kidnapping marketing executive Sarah Everard, 33, on the streets of London, then raping and killing, shocking Britain and sparking a wave of violent protests against women.
Wayne Couzens, 48, a London police officer who had served and had the honor of guarding diplomatic premises, said the Old Bailey Court used his position to stop Everard.
Couzens forces Everard into a car as he walks home after visiting a friend in south London on March 3. His body was found in the woods about 50 miles (80 km) away in southeast England. Post-mortem results concluded he had died as a result of neck compression.
With the judge finding him guilty and handing him a life sentence, it means he has no chance of parole.
"Nothing can make things better, nothing can bring Sarah back, but knowing she will be in prison forever brings some relief," the Everard family said in a statement.
"Wayne Couzens held a position of trust as a police officer. We are outraged and disgusted that he abused this trust to lure Sarah to her death," the family continued.
The killing sparked public protests and an outpouring of anger from women, recounting their experiences of fear and anxiety going out alone at night.
A witness saw Everard handcuffed before his abduction. Meanwhile, the police investigating the case said Couzens may have used the COVID-19 protocol as an excuse to wrongfully arrest him.
Judge Adrian Fulford said Couzens had long planned a violent sexual assault against an unselected victim, forcing her into custody.
"I have no doubt in the slightest that the defendant used his position as a police officer to force him under completely false pretext into the car he rented for this purpose," Fulford said at trial.
Separately, Metropolitan Police Commander Cressida Dick is outraged and devastated by Couzens' crimes. She has also apologized to Everard's family.
"Our police are there to protect us, and I know officers will share our shock and destruction at this total betrayal of our duty," said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
British police watchdogs are investigating the failure of police to investigate an incident of indecent exposure linked to Couzens in 2015, and two other similar allegations in February this year.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Harriet Harman asked Dick to resign from his position.
"Sarah Everard is just walking home. Women should be able to trust the police, not be afraid of them. Women's trust in the police will be broken," Harman criticized on Twitter.
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In an out-of-court statement, Dick did not answer questions about his own position.
"His actions are a gross betrayal of all that the police stand for! What he did was unthinkable and horrific. This man has humiliated the Met (police)" she criticized, describing it as one of the most horrific events in the 190-year history of the London Metropolitan Police Service.
"There are no words that can fully express the immense anger and sadness we all feel about what happened to Sarah. I am so sorry," she bitterly shared as a woman.
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