Police officer pleads guilty to rape and kidnap of Sarah Everard
PC Wayne Couzens has also accepted responsibility for her death
Last updated 24th May 2022
A serving police officer has accepted responsibility for killing Sarah Everard.
48-year-old PC Wayne Couzens pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard as he appeared at the Old Bailey today (Tuesday 8th June).
The court heard Couzens accepted responsibility for the killing of Ms Everard but was not asked to enter a plea to a charge of murder.
Sarah Everard's disappearance
Marketing executive Ms Everard, 33, went missing as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on March 3.
She was reported missing by her boyfriend on March 4 and her body was found hidden in an area of woodland in Ashford, Kent, on March 10.
Wayne Couzens pleads guilty to rape and kidnap
The Metropolitan Police officer was wearing khaki trousers and a grey sweatshirt as he appeared by video link from Belmarsh jail.
He pleaded guilty to kidnapping Ms Everard “unlawfully and by force or fraud” and he also pleaded guilty to a second charge of rape
Couzens was not asked to enter a plea to her murder, the court heard that responsibility for the killing was admitted but medical reports were awaited.
Members of Ms Everard’s family sat in court to witness the defendant enter his pleas.