Met Police investigate whether Wayne Couzens has struck BEFORE: Police reveal ‘on-going’ probe

Detectives from the Met Police are actively investigating if killer cop Wayne Couzens is connected to any further historic crimes.

Officers this evening appealed for any so-far unknown victims of the sexual predator to contact them if they were targeted by him.

Currently they have not linked him to any offences of the same seriousness as the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. But the Met action emerged hours after criminologists told MailOnline his crime suggested ‘he had done this before’.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘As you would expect we continue to make enquiries to establish whether he has been involved in other criminal offences.

‘As these investigations are ongoing we are unable to go into further detail although, at this time, we have not identified anything that is of the same level of seriousness as the crimes he has been sentenced for.

‘We are keen to hear from anyone who may have information about any criminality they believe Couzens was involved in.’ 

The killer rapist, 48, who staged a fake arrest as a ploy to trap Ms Everard in the back of his car, was this morning sentenced to a whole life order for his barbaric crimes.

But experts say the confidence in which he carried out the abduction shows he had done it before. And the way he disposed of Miss Everard’s body by burning her remains signalled ‘experienced behaviour’. 

Meanwhile, the Met Police has said it could not have stopped Couzens from murdering Sarah Everard as it pointed a finger at Kent for not properly investigating a 2015 report of indecent exposure linked to the officer’s car.

The killer cop, 48, was nicknamed The Rapist because of his inappropriate behaviour around women, had an obsession with ‘brutal porn’ and flashed McDonald’s workers before murdering Sarah Everard on March 3. 

But he still passed a vetting process that saw him put in charge of a gun as he stood guard at embassies in London for Met Police. 

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is also looking into Kent Police – where Couzens used to work as a volunteer – after it was accused of not investigating reports in 2015 that a man had been spotted driving down a road with no trousers on. 

Met Police today admitted ‘one of a range of checks’ when Couzens applied to join the force ‘may not have been undertaken correctly’.

Couzens’ car numberplate was linked to the 2015 indecent exposure but Met Police blamed the Kent force, claiming ‘Kent Police investigated this allegation and decided to take no further action. Our review found that the record of this allegation and outcome may not have been found during the vetting checks.’

It comes as a list of eight blunders that left Couzens free to kill were revealed. 

In summarising the case as he sentenced Couzens, Lord Justice Fulford spoke at length at the detailed plans he had made to snatch a victim off the street.

He told the Old Bailey the killer ‘spent at least a month travelling to London to research’, adding ‘The degree of preparation and the length of time over which it extended is to be stressed’.

The Met Police did not respond to whether he was being linked to any other serious crimes today. His previous force Kent is not believed to be looking at any historic offences.

But criminologist Professor David Wilson told MailOnline: ‘I am absolutely convinced he is being looked at for other things.

‘Everything revealed yesterday suggests Couzens has behaved in this way before.

‘It suggests to me this wasn’t his first offence. Nobody moves into this type of behaviour overnight – they are a long time in the making.

‘Nothing would surprise me about Wayne Couzens and Wayne Couzens’ previous offending.

‘I would treat him in the same category as John Worboys – because of the circumstances of him using his occupation to target lone women.

‘He was engaged in a lot of planning. One of the riskiest things was he drove her 80 miles with a handcuffed woman in the back of his car.

‘The fact he did suggests he thought he was safe and that must come from the fact he has done something similar in the past. 

‘What was unusual – and suggests his experience – was his disposal of the body. Burning someone’s remains is a good way to get rid of it. All of that suggests this is experienced behaviour.’ 

The Old Bailey heard horrific details of the serving police officer’s deceit and Sarah’s final hours before she was raped, murdered and burned in a pre-meditated attack that was weeks in the planning: 

Prosecution say five words summarise what PC Wayne Couzens did to Sarah Everard: ‘Deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire’; Friends in Deal said Couzens was regularly seen wearing his police belt with handcuffs and pepper spray, when not on duty, and he lied that he was an undercover police officer;In December 2020 he joined Match.com and said he had no wife and children. He also signed up to an escort agency; In January 2021, Couzens worked on COVID patrols and ‘used this knowledge’ to kidnap his victim, who he stopped after doing laps of west and south-west London on the night of March 3, 2021;On February 10 he bought a ‘police standard issue handcuff key with double locking pin’ from Amazon, which he used on his police-issue cuffs to detain Sarah Everard and force her into his hire car;On February 28, Couzens booked a hire car online from Enterprise and ordered a 100m roll of carpet protector film from Amazon, used to line the boot where he eventually kept Sarah’s body;He had told his wife that he was working a night shift when he grabbed Sarah – in fact he was off duty and cruising the streets looking for a victim;A couple driving past witnessed the kidnapping. Couzens using his warrant card and handcuffs to make a false arrest. They believed she had ‘done something wrong’ so didn’t intervene;  A former boyfriend said Sarah was ‘extremely intelligent, savvy and streetwise’ and would never get into a stranger’s vehicle ‘unless by force or by manipulation’, which is exactly what Couzens did; Sarah was driven 80 miles to the Kent coast, where she was raped and murdered after a five-hour ordeal; In 2019 Wayne Couzens bought plot of woodland in Hoads Wood near Ashford. He bragged it was ‘perfect for day trips’ – but it’s where he burned Sarah’s body and dumped it in bags in shallow water; Couzens took his family on a trip to the woods where he burned Miss Everard’s body – allowing his children to play near where it was dumped;Phoned vet to arrange for an appointment to see his dog and handed in his Met Police firearms licence; Lied about being forced to ‘pick up a girl’ by an Eastern European gang who threatened his family;Admits to killing her with his belt – with prosecution saying injuries were consistent with his police belt;Couzens repeatedly self-harmed in his cell, as police divers found Miss Everard’s phone in the River Stour; Miss Everard’s father demanded killer ‘look me in the face’, mother said she was ‘haunted’ by murder and sister called Couzens ‘a monster’;Court also heard how Couzens was ‘attracted to brutal sexual pornography’ 

Couzens has been linked to an incident three days before Miss Everard was kidnapped which saw two members of staff being flashed at a branch of McDonald’s in south London. 

The Met is being investigated by the IOPC for allegedly failing to probe these two separate incidents, despite apparently being provided with CCTV. Couzens was only identified as a suspect after Miss Everard’s murder. 

Questions have also been asked about how the Met Police’s vetting process failed to pick up concerns around Couzens before he was made an armed officer in its elite Diplomatic Protection Group, which involved him guarding embassies, VIPs and members of the Royal Family. 

A McDonald’s worker today claimed Couzens exposed himself to her three weeks before killing Miss Everard as she was working at a drive-thru on the A20 near Swanley in Kent at the start of February. 

Couzens was allegedly nicknamed ‘The Rapist’ by colleagues in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary – where he was involved in protecting nuclear power stations – because of his inappropriate behaviour around women. 

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor said the nickname was known by some officers.

Sir Tom told the BBC Couzens ‘also had allegedly a reputation in terms of drug abuse, extreme pornography and other offences of this kind’. 

Couzens used to work at his father’s garage in Dover before joining the Kent Special Constabulary at some point after 2002. 

The court heard a colleague in that year spoke of ‘his attraction to brutal sexual pornography’ but Jim Sturman QC, defending, said it related to a single incident ‘which is almost impossible to examine now’. 

The court heard he used prostitutes and had a fake Match.com dating profile despite being married with two children and in 2018, it has been claimed he was reported to bosses for slapping a female police officer’s bottom at Bromley police station. It appears no action was taken, a source claimed.

While at Bromley, it is also alleged he became the subject of gossip for only stopping female motorists – before taking their details so he could watch their homes – and parking outside schools to leer at mothers and sixth formers. 

The Met said: ‘Couzens was a serving and vetted police officer when he joined the Met. He had no criminal convictions or cautions and he was not subject to any misconduct proceedings during his time at the MPS. We are aware of no other concerns raised by his colleagues or anyone regarding his behaviour.’ 

The force admitted mistakes were made during Couzens’ vetting process.

A spokesman added: ‘Following his arrest, as the public would expect, we reviewed his vetting. This review confirmed he passed vetting processes. However, it also found one of a range of checks may not have been undertaken correctly. 

‘This check related to information regarding a vehicle which was registered to Couzens and that was linked to an allegation of indecent exposure in Kent in 2015. 

‘Kent Police investigated this allegation and decided to take no further action. Our review found that the record of this allegation and outcome may not have been found during the vetting checks. 

‘However, the review we conducted found that despite this there was no information available to the Met at the time that would have changed the vetting decision. We continue to build up a picture of Couzens’ career and wider activities. 

‘We would like to appeal for anyone who has information of concern about Couzens – whether police colleagues or members of the public – to contact us directly.’

A McDonald’s worker told MailOnline she saw Couzens pulling up by the order hatch with his trousers down. Met Police has not commented on this claim and the worker did not suggest the Met knew Couzens had done this and allowed him to carry on working.

The staff member – who said she recognised Couzens from the news coverage after he was identified as Miss Everard’s killer, told MailOnline: ‘The whole has thing left me quite disturbed. He casually pulled up to the serving hatch having ordered his food and I could clearly see that he was naked from below the waist.

‘It was not the first time that he had done this when he came to McDonald’s, but I was the only female member of staff to report it. I’m glad I took a stand and alerted the authorities because it was the right thing do. But I never imagined that he would go on to murder a woman, it’s tragic.’ 

The devout Christian said she reported the alleged incident to police. MailOnline has contacted the Met for comment. 

The Met is already being investigated by the police watchdog for its alleged failure to investigate two flashings later attributed to Couzens at a McDonald’s in south London three days before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Miss Everard. 

Depraved Couzens used his Metropolitan Police-issue warrant card and handcuffs to snatch Miss Everard as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3.

Couzens, a firearms officer, had clocked off from a 12-hour shift at the American embassy that morning but in the time leading up to the kidnap had cruised the capital looking for a victim.

He posed as an undercover officer to stage the fake arrest before driving to a secluded rural area near Dover in Kent, where he parked up and raped Miss Everard.

Prof Wilson added: ‘The detail that were released were all about behaviour and they were practiced and controlled.

‘They were quite obviously related to his sexual fantasies. In my experience nobody makes their sexual fantasies a reality overnight.

‘The fake arrest may well be a signifier in his behaviour. He is quite clearly interested in uniform, sadism and masochism, control and handcuffs.

‘His nickname was apparently “the rapist” at work, he had obviously other complaints of indecent exposures to women previous to Sarah’s murder.

‘We have to take these indecent exposures as a very serious indicator of abhorrent sexual behaviour.

‘He is 48 years old, this is not a 25-year-old who is at the beginning of his offending career.

‘This is somebody who is mature who has had a lot of life experience and that is an indicator his past life needs looking into.’

Criminal psychologist Dr David Holmes agreed police should appeal for any more potential victims of Couzens.

He told MailOnline: ‘This is unlikely to be his first offence, he has just not been caught before. I think some kind of public appeal would be a good idea.

‘This kind of behaviour does not suddenly emerge. The cold, calm way he did it would say this is something that was part of his repertoire.

‘It may be his first killing but I would have thought he had toyed around with this and possibly have a long litany of encounters where he has used his ability to have power over others.

‘This pretty unlikely to be the first time he has done something of this nature.’ 

Married father-of-two Couzens burned Miss Everard’s body in a refrigerator in an area of woodland he owned in Hoads Wood, near Ashford, before dumping the remains in a nearby pond.

Lord Justice Fulford, handing him a rare whole life order, spoke of the detailed planning he had carried out before he struck.

He said: ‘The defendant spent at least a month travelling to London to research how best to commit these crimes.

‘The degree of preparation and the length of time over which it extended is to be stressed.

‘He bought part of the wherewithal to handcuff his victim – a police standard issue handcuff key was purchased from Amazon on 10 February and was found in the front of the Seat – self-adhesive carpet protector film was purchased on 28 February and delivered on 1 March and 14 hair bands were purchased in a shop on 3 March at 8pm.

‘The protector film had been used but its precise purpose is unknown. The hairbands were either for use in order to maintain an erection or as a means of restraint. This has not been disputed.

‘He hired a car on 28 February which he drove to London on 3 March. He had parked the Seat motorcar in Dover in an area where there were no houses close by, with the result that it was less likely than otherwise would have been the case that there would be witnesses to what occurred, including any signs of distress or resistance by Sarah Everard when she was transferred from the hire car to the Seat.

‘He used, therefore, the hire car, as opposed to his own vehicle, to kidnap Sarah Everard. He took some of his police kit with him to London, clearly in my view for use in this offending.

‘He lied to his family about working a night shift on 3 March and although he was in London that night, he avoided visiting the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command base in Lillie Road.

‘Instead, he covered extensive distances in the capital, beyond doubt, as suggested by Mr Little, hunting a lone young female to kidnap and rape. It follows from this that the defendant had planned well in advance, in all its unspeakably grim detail, what was to occur and when he encountered Sarah Everard all that was missing up to that point was his victim.’  

Yesterday’s hearing saw the chilling moment Miss Everard was handcuffed in the back of killer cop Couzens’ hire car before he drove her 80 miles to her death. 

Footage taken from a passing dashcam shows the 33-year-old stood on a pavement on Poynders Road in Clapham as Couzens, who was wearing handcuffs on his police belt, speaks to her. 

The twisted Met Protection Officer can be seen producing his warrant card as he claimed Miss Everard had breached Covid restrictions.

Couzens then cuffed her hands behind her back, leaving her incapable of undoing the seatbelt he strapped around her after ordering her into the back of his rental car. 

She was then driven for two hours to Dover where he forcibly moved her from the hire car into his own black Seat before continuing along remote back roads to Hoad’s Wood where he raped her, strangled her with his belt and stashed her body in a fridge.

Miss Everard’s devastated family listened from the public gallery as the Old Bailey heard harrowing details of how Couzens took her to a rural area and raped her, before later being seen buying Lucozade and other drinks from BP station with her body in boot, after she was believed to have been murdered.

Distressing details of the timeline suggest Miss Everard could have been alive for more than four hours in the back of Couzens’ car. She was snatched off the street by 9.30pm and when the killer pulled into the garage at 2.30am, Sarah is thought to have been in his boot, already dead. 

The court heard he confessed to a psychiatrist that he had strangled Miss Everard with his belt, and the prosecution said her injuries were consistent with ones that would have been caused by his police belt.

Couzens – who had prepared for the abduction by buying a rental car and a sheet of film from Amazon – hid her body inside a fridge in a patch of rubbish-strewn woodland before torching it. 

Footage released by police showed the moment Couzens rented the car he would go on to use to prowl the streets of London for almost two hours before picking up Miss Everard.

The CCTV clip showed Couzens calmly laughing with a female attendant. He joked ‘you’ve put me on the spot’ while trying to remember his phone number as she took his details.

He went on to visit a Tesco store in west London to buy a pack of 14 hairbands just an hour before Miss Everard was abducted on March 3, before making further trips to a B&Q two days after Miss Everard is believed to have been killed. He also visited a Homebase in Folkestone on the morning of Monday, March 8.

CCTV footage showed the moment he went on to visit a BP garage in Dover on Friday, March 5 to buy and fill a petrol canister – believed to have been used to burn Miss Everard’s body. 

Just days after the murder, the father-of-two took his wife and children on a family trip and allowed the youngsters to play near a pond where he had dumped Miss Everard’s remains, the prosecution said.

Couzens was arrested at his home in Deal, Kent, after police connected him to a hire car he used to abduct Ms Everard, whose remains were found by police dogs on March 10.

Taken to Wandsworth Police Station, he repeatedly tried to self-harm by banging his head on a sink and running into a wall, and was put under constant watch before appearing in court. 

He was sacked from the force after he pleaded guilty in July to her kidnap, rape and murder.

Before the attack members of the public had noticed Couzens wearing his police belt when not on duty, with a pair of handcuffs and black pepper spray holder.

‘This is the type of equipment that it can be inferred that the defendant was wearing when he kidnapped Sarah Everard,’ said Mr Little.   

He continued: ‘It was not unusual for officers on PaDP to take personal protective and other equipment (including body armour and handcuffs) home with them from the Lillie Road base – they were required to undertake frequent training, at a number of different locations, to which they would travel directly. 

‘For convenience, they would often take home the kit needed.

‘Two members of the public had independently noticed seeing the defendant when he was not on duty wearing his Police belt with handcuffs and a rectangular black pouch (similar to a pepper spray holder) attached to it (whilst out in Deal walking his dog; and when attending a local computer hardware repair shop in the town).

‘This is the type of equipment that it can be inferred that the defendant was wearing when he kidnapped Sarah Everard.

‘It is instructive that in relation to the incident in the repair shop that when the owner asked the defendant jokingly if he was ‘into kinky stuff’ when he referred to the handcuffs that were visible on the defendant’s belt. The defendant said ‘I am an undercover police officer’.

‘As he said that the defendant chuckled but then opened his jacket a little more to reveal his Police issue kit.’

On Wednesday, Ms Everard’s parents and sister Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick also attended court to hear how one of her own officers had abused his position to carry out his crimes, which shocked the nation.

In a statement before the sentencing started, the Met said: ‘We are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes which betray everything we stand for.

‘Our thoughts are with Sarah’s family and her many friends. It is not possible for us to imagine what they are going through.

‘We recognise his actions raise many questions and concerns but we will not be commenting further until the hearing is complete.’

Police scramble to defend themselves over Sarah Everard: Met says they could NOT have stopped Wayne Couzens from murdering the 33-year-old but point finger at Kent force for not properly investigating report of indecent exposure  

Metropolitan Police has said it could not have stopped Wayne Couzens from murdering Sarah Everard as it pointed a finger at Kent for not properly investigating a 2015 report of indecent exposure linked to the officer’s car.

The killer cop, 48, was nicknamed The Rapist because of his inappropriate behaviour around women, had an obsession with ‘brutal porn’ and flashed McDonald’s workers before murdering Sarah Everard on March 3. 

But he still passed a vetting process that saw him put in charge of a gun as he stood guard at embassies in London for Met Police. 

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is also looking into Kent Police – where Couzens used to work as a volunteer – after it was accused of not investigating reports in 2015 that a man had been spotted driving down a road with no trousers on. 

Met Police today said ‘one of a range of checks’ when Couzens applied to join the force ‘may not have been undertaken correctly’.

Couzens’ car numberplate was linked to the 2015 indecent exposure but Met Police blamed the Kent force, claiming ‘Kent Police investigated this allegation and decided to take no further action. Our review found that the record of this allegation and outcome may not have been found during the vetting checks.’

It comes as a list of eight blunders that left Couzens free to kill were revealed.

Couzens has been linked to an incident three days before Miss Everard was kidnapped which saw two members of staff being flashed at a branch of McDonald’s in south London. 

The Met is being investigated by the IOPC for allegedly failing to probe these two separate incidents, despite apparently being provided with CCTV. Couzens was only identified as a suspect after Miss Everard’s murder. 

Questions have also been asked about how the Met Police’s vetting process failed to pick up concerns around Couzens before he was made an armed officer in its elite Diplomatic Protection Group, which involved him guarding embassies, VIPs and members of the Royal Family. 

A McDonald’s worker today claimed Couzens exposed himself to her three weeks before killing Miss Everard as she was working at a drive-thru on the A20 near Swanley in Kent at the start of February. 

Couzens was allegedly nicknamed ‘The Rapist’ by colleagues in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary – where he was involved in protecting nuclear power stations – because of his inappropriate behaviour around women. 

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor said the nickname was known by some officers.

Sir Tom told the BBC Couzens ‘also had allegedly a reputation in terms of drug abuse, extreme pornography and other offences of this kind’. 

Couzens used to work at his father’s garage in Dover before joining the Kent Special Constabulary at some point after 2002. 

The court heard a colleague in that year spoke of ‘his attraction to brutal sexual pornography’ but Jim Sturman QC, defending, said it related to a single incident ‘which is almost impossible to examine now’. 

The court heard he used prostitutes and had a fake Match.com dating profile despite being married with two children and in 2018, it has been claimed he was reported to bosses for slapping a female police officer’s bottom at Bromley police station. It appears no action was taken, a source claimed.

While at Bromley, it is also alleged he became the subject of gossip for only stopping female motorists – before taking their details so he could watch their homes – and parking outside schools to leer at mothers and sixth formers. 

The Met said: ‘Couzens was a serving and vetted police officer when he joined the Met. He had no criminal convictions or cautions and he was not subject to any misconduct proceedings during his time at the MPS. We are aware of no other concerns raised by his colleagues or anyone regarding his behaviour.’ 

The force admitted mistakes were made during Couzens’ vetting process.

A spokesman added: ‘Following his arrest, as the public would expect, we reviewed his vetting. This review confirmed he passed vetting processes. However, it also found one of a range of checks may not have been undertaken correctly. 

‘This check related to information regarding a vehicle which was registered to Couzens and that was linked to an allegation of indecent exposure in Kent in 2015. 

‘Kent Police investigated this allegation and decided to take no further action. Our review found that the record of this allegation and outcome may not have been found during the vetting checks. 

‘However, the review we conducted found that despite this there was no information available to the Met at the time that would have changed the vetting decision. We continue to build up a picture of Couzens’ career and wider activities. 

‘We would like to appeal for anyone who has information of concern about Couzens – whether police colleagues or members of the public – to contact us directly.’

A McDonald’s worker told MailOnline she saw Couzens pulling up by the order hatch with his trousers down. Met Police has not commented on this claim and the worker did not suggest the Met knew Couzens had done this and allowed him to carry on working.

The staff member – who said she recognised Couzens from the news coverage after he was identified as Miss Everard’s killer, told MailOnline: ‘The whole has thing left me quite disturbed. He casually pulled up to the serving hatch having ordered his food and I could clearly see that he was naked from below the waist.

‘It was not the first time that he had done this when he came to McDonald’s, but I was the only female member of staff to report it. I’m glad I took a stand and alerted the authorities because it was the right thing do. But I never imagined that he would go on to murder a woman, it’s tragic.’ 

The devout Christian said she reported the alleged incident to police. MailOnline has contacted the Met for comment. 

The Met is already being investigated by the police watchdog for its alleged failure to investigate two flashings later attributed to Couzens at a McDonald’s in south London three days before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Miss Everard. 

Couzens used his police ID to carry out a fake Covid arrest, cuffed the 33-year-old in his car and then strangled her using his police belt. 

He appeared to shake in the dock as he was handed a full life term at the Old Bailey this morning – as activists with ‘Met Police: Blood on their hands’ banners protested outside. Lord Justice Fulford said he was a ‘warped’ and ‘self-pitying’ killer who used his position and knowledge of Covid-19 lockdown laws to carry out one of the most shocking crimes in recent history. 

The McDonald’s worker allegedly targeted by Couzens in February said of the incident: ‘I believe that the police took action when I reported the matter at the time but I suppose the question is if it was appropriate enough?’ she asked.

‘A process was underway, they were looking into it but perhaps they could have done more. I never thought it would escalate in the way that it did, and I don’t think the police did either.

‘I have not spoken about the incident at great length because I don’t want to take anything away from Sarah’s killing. At the end of the day the focus should be on her and her family and other women who have been killed by men.

‘I’m a devout Christian and people in my church have supported me. The whole thing was very disturbing. I no longer work at McDonald’s, I’m in a new job and have put the whole thing behind me. It is a closed chapter in my life and I’ve moved on.’

Shopping in Tesco and B&Q for his kidnap, rape and kill kit: Footage shows Wayne Couzens buy rubble bags, hairbands and a jerry can he used in sickening murder of Sarah Everard

Chilling footage shows Wayne Couzens shopping for rubble bags, hairbands and a jerry can full of petrol he would use in the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. 

Wayne Couzens, 48, used his Metropolitan Police-issue warrant card and handcuffs to snatch Ms Everard as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3.  

The firearms officer, who had clocked off from a 12-hour shift at the American embassy that morning, drove to a secluded rural area near Dover in Kent, where he raped Ms Everard. 

In disturbing footage, released by the Met Police today, Couzens is seen on March 3, the night of Ms Everard’s disappearance, at a Tesco Superstore in Kensington, west London, at 8pm. 

He buys a pack of 14 hair bands, which were said to be a ‘significant’ purchase and part of his plans. 

Couzens had strangled marketing executive Ms Everard, who lived in Brixton, south London, with his police belt at or before 2.30am the following morning.

On March 5, at 11.05am, Couzens is seen buying a petrol canister and filling it up at a BP forecourt in Whitfield, Dover. 

Three hours later, CCTV shows him wearing a pale blue face mask while shopping at a B&Q hardware shop in Dover, where he buys two green rubble bags for £9.94.

Ms Everard’s mother Susan said at the Old Bailey today that Couzens ‘treated my daughter as if she was nothing and disposed of her as if she was rubbish’.

She added: ‘When Sarah’s burnt remains were found, we spent two terrible days waiting for tests to show how she had died, fearing she had been set alight before she was dead – the thought was appalling.

‘Burning her body was the final insult, it meant we could never again see her sweet face and never say goodbye.’

On March 6 Couzens ordered a tarpaulin and a bungee cargo net on Amazon, which were shipped to him on March 7.

He then calls in sick on March 8, when he was due to return to work.

On March 9 his phone is wiped of all data at 7.11pm, less than an hour before he is arrested at his home in Deal, Kent, at 7.50pm. 

The next day, Ms Everard’s body was discovered in a wooded area of Ashford, Kent, around 100 metres from land owned by Couzens.

She was later formally identified by dental records.  

On Wednesday, Ms Everard’s parents and sister condemned her killer as he sat quaking in the dock with his head bowed at the start of his sentencing at the Old Bailey.

Her father Jeremy Everard demanded the killer look at him as he said: ‘I can never forgive you for what you have done, for taking Sarah away from us.’

Susan Everard said she was ‘incandescent with rage’ at what he had done, saying he disposed of her daughter ‘as if she was rubbish’.

She added: ‘I am outraged that he masqueraded as a policeman in order to get what he wanted.’

Sister Katie Everard wept as she said: ‘My only hope is that she was in a state of shock and that she wasn’t aware of the disgusting things being done to her by a monster. When you forced yourself upon her and raped her.’

Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick also attended court to hear how one of her own officers had abused his position and used his warrant card to kidnap Ms Everard ‘by fraud’ before detaining her ‘by force’.

Prosecutor Tom Little QC suggested the case was so exceptional and unprecedented that it could warrant a whole life order, meaning Couzens would die in jail.

Opening the facts of the case, he said Ms Everard’s disappearance was one of the most widely publicised missing person investigations the country has ever seen.

After her body was discovered a week later, it became summarised on social media by the hashtag ‘she was just walking home’, which did not completely describe what had happened, he said.

‘Whilst it is impossible to summarise what the defendant did to Sarah Everard in just five words, if it had to be done then it would be more appropriate to do so as deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire,’ said Mr Little.

The court heard Ms Everard was described by a former long-term boyfriend as ‘extremely intelligent, savvy and streetwise’ and ‘not a gullible person’.

He said he could not envisage her getting into a car with someone she did not know ‘unless by force or manipulation’, said the prosecutor.

Couzens had worked on uniformed Covid patrols in late January to enforce coronavirus regulations, so would have known what language to use to those who may have breached them, he continued.

He is thought to have been wearing his police belt with handcuffs and a rectangular black pouch, similar to a pepper spray holder, when he kidnapped Ms Everard as she walked home.

‘The fact she had been to a friend’s house for dinner at the height of the early 2021 lockdown made her more vulnerable to and more likely to submit to an accusation that she had acted in breach of the Covid regulations in some way,’ said Mr Little.

The court heard how Couzens had booked a hire car before going out ‘hunting’ for a lone young female to kidnap and rape.

Chilling CCTV footage played in court showed Couzens raising his left arm, holding a warrant card, before handcuffing Ms Everard and putting her into the back of the car.

A passing couple witnessed the kidnapping but mistook it for an arrest by an undercover officer, the court heard.

Mr Little said: ‘She was detained by fraud. The defendant using his warrant card and handcuffs as well as his other police issue equipment to effect a false arrest.’

Couzens worked for the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command after joining the Met in 2018, having transferred from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

He was sacked by the force after entering guilty pleas.

Scotland Yard said in a statement ahead of the sentencing hearing: ‘We are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes which betray everything we stand for.’

Lord Justice Fulford adjourned the case until Thursday when he will hand down his sentence.