LONDON: A British police officer admitted on Friday that he had murdered Sarah Everard, whose killing sparked anger, protests and soul-searching across the country about what the authorities and society could do to stop male violence against women.

Wayne Couzens, 48, a serving London officer who guarded diplomatic premises, had previously admitted rape and kidnap.

He abducted Everard, 33, into a hire car as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London on March 3 and her body was later found in woodland around 80 km away in south-eastern England. A post-mortem last month concluded she had died as a result of compression of the neck.

Appearing by video link from prison for a hearing at London’s Old Bailey Court, Couzens, bearded and wearing a blue sweatshirt, sat with his head bowed and said “guilty ma’am” when asked how he pleaded to the charge of murder.

Prosecutor Tom Little said the officer had never met Everard prior to kidnapping her from London’s South Circular road and they were “total strangers”.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2021