BBC Online :
A Met Police officer who murdered Sarah Everard after kidnapping her under the guise of an arrest has been sentenced to a whole-life prison term.
Wayne Couzens abducted the 33-year-old as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London on 3 March.
During the sentencing of Couzens, the judge said the case was “devastating, tragic and wholly brutal”.
Ms Everard’s family said they were relieved by the fact that Couzens would die in jail.
Speaking to reporters outside the Old Bailey following his sentencing, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said she recognised that a “precious bond of trust” had been damaged by Couzens, who had “brought shame on the Met”.
Describing him as a “coward”, she said his crimes were “a gross betrayal of everything policing stands for”, adding: “I am so sorry.”
An ongoing Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) review of how Couzens became a Met officer has found that vetting procedures missed that two of his previous cars had been linked to allegations of indecent exposure.
Speaking to the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee earlier on Thursday, two senior Met officers said they were “not aware” of rumours that Couzens was nicknamed “the rapist” by colleagues.
However, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor said the nickname was known by some officers.
Sir Tom, who in his role has responsibility
for the inspection of police forces, told BBC Radio 4’s the World at One: “Yes, I did know that. And he also had allegedly a reputation in terms of drug abuse, extreme pornography and other offences of this kind.”
What other officers knew or suspected about Couzens remains the subject of the IOPC investigation.
When sentencing Couzens earlier on Thursday, Lord Justice Fulford described the circumstances of the kidnap, rape and murder as “grotesque”, telling him he had “betrayed” his family. He said Ms Everard was “an intelligent, resourceful, talented and much-loved young woman, still in the early years of her life”.
The judge told 48-year-old Couzens: “Notwithstanding your guilty pleas, therefore, I have seen no evidence of genuine contrition on your part, as opposed to evident self-pity and attempts by you to avoid or minimise the proper consequences of what you have done.”
He said the seriousness of the case was so “exceptionally high” that it warranted a whole-life order.
“The misuse of a police officer’s role such as occurred in this case in order to kidnap, rape and murder a lone victim is of equal seriousness as a murder for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause,” he told the Old Bailey. “All of these situations attack different aspects of the fundamental underpinnings of our democratic way of life.”
Media caption, A CCTV timeline shows key evidence used to arrest and prosecute Wayne Couzens
Reacting to the sentencing, Ms Everard’s family said they were pleased with the full-life term, adding that although “nothing can make things better, nothing can bring Sarah back… knowing he will be imprisoned forever brings some relief.
“Sarah lost her life needlessly and cruelly and all the years of life she had yet to enjoy were stolen from her. Wayne Couzens held a position of trust as a police officer and we are outraged and sickened that he abused this trust in order to lure Sarah to her death. The world is a safer place with him imprisoned.
“It is almost seven months since Sarah died and the pain of losing her is overwhelming. We miss her all the time. We hold her safe in our hearts.”
