PC Wayne Couzens, 48, pleads guilty to Sarah Everard’s murder

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Two UK police forces were today facing serious questions over why PC Wayne Couzens was not investigated for three sex crimes – and allowed to continue as a serving officer – before he raped and killed Sarah Everard. 

The depraved pornography addict, 48, was linked to at least three sexual offences before he kidnapped and killed innocent Sarah but was never even spoken to.

A 2015 indecent exposure in Kent, where he was spotted driving naked from the waist down, is so similar to his alleged double flashing at a McDonald’s drive-through days before Sarah’s murder it begs questions over whether he struck other times.

And the Met has refused to say whether it is investigating Couzens over any other unsolved crimes, despite the fact his guilty pleas mean he will not stand trial.

Both it and the Kent force are mired in watchdog investigations centring on the crooked police officer and his appalling crimes.

A dozen officers from across the constabularies are under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

It laid bare a series of deeply worrying incidents and said it had served the 12 police staff with gross misconduct or misconduct notices with multiple investigations ongoing.

One gross misconduct notice and six misconduct notices relate to a probe into allegations officers from ‘a number of forces’ breached standards of professional behaviour by sharing information linked to the prosecution of Couzens via a messaging app.

Others have been served to three officers over an investigation into a probationary Met Police constable who allegedly shared an inappropriate graphic relating to the Sarah Everard case with officers over social media before subsequently manning the cordon at the scene of the search for her.

A probe into the Metropolitan Police’s alleged failure to investigate allegations of indecent exposure linked to pornography-obsessed Couzens in February 2021 is also continuing with two officers being investigated for possible breaches of professional standards that may amount to misconduct.

And a separate investigation is also ongoing into the claims that Kent Police failed to investigate an incident of indecent exposure in 2015, but no notices have been served by the IOPC to officers over this.

An investigation into how Wayne Couzens sustained head injuries while in custody on both March 10 and March 12 following his arrest has almost concluded, the IOPC said, with all officers involved treated as witnesses. 

Kent Assistant Chief Constable Tom Richards said: ‘In May 2021 Kent Police made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to its investigation into an alleged indecent exposure in Dover, in June 2015.

‘It was reported at the time that a man unknown to the complainant, who was also a man, had been spotted driving a car whilst naked from the waist down. No arrests were made.

‘It would be inappropriate to comment further whilst the IOPC continues to carry out its independent investigation.’

Metropolitan Police officer Couzens, appearing via video link from HMP Belmarsh, told the hushed Old Bailey this morning he murdered Sarah after the abduction and sex attack.

The killer, who may now face a rare whole life prison sentence, came up with an implausible lie an Eastern European gang had forced him to kidnap her after underpaying a prostitute.

As the Met pursued its investigation the absurd story was dropped as he realised he could not escape justice.

But despite his new confession, Couzens – a diplomatic protection officer – has still refused to explain why he carried out his crimes, offering brazen ‘no comment’ replies in every police interview. He had even tried to kill himself in custody by running into a wall at the station.

He had meticulously planned the kidnap and hired a car three days earlier and bought a roll of self-adhesive film advertised as a carpet protector on Amazon.

The circumstances of what happened after he took Sarah will not be detailed until a hearing in September, but the court was told investigations have found she was transferred to Couzens’ own car in Kent, which is where he may have carried out the rape.

Carolyn Oakley, CPS Specialist Prosecutor in the Special Crime Division, said: ‘Wayne Couzens lied to the police when he was arrested and to date, he has refused to comment. We still do not know what drove him to commit this appalling crime against a stranger.’

Questions will also be asked over whether the Met could have stopped him after an indecent exposure was reported to it four days before he struck. CCTV footage showed it was Couzens but it was not realised until after he had killed Sarah. The sequence of events are currently under investigation by the Independent Office of Police Conduct. 

Sarah was taken as she was walking home through Clapham Common from a friend’s house towards Brixton on March 3.

She had been reported missing by her boyfriend, who she called for around 14 minutes on an approximately 2.5 mile journey home which began at around 9pm. 

Hunched over in a grey prison tracksuit, bald and bearded Couzens’ quietly answered ‘guilty maam’ when the charge was put to him by the court clerk. 

Tom Little, QC, prosecuting, confirmed today the cop did not ‘and had never met Sarah’ before he abducted her.

Ms Everard’s parents, Jeremy, a professor of electronics at the University of York, and her mother, Susan, were among members of Sarah’s family in court to hear Couzens admit murder today. 

The marketing assistant, who grew up in York and lived in London, was seen on a doorbell camera at around 9pm walking along Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill.

CCTV caught her alone at quarter past nine and again at 9.28pm, before she was seen on the camera of a marked police car at 9.32pm.

Then at around 9.35pm, a bus camera captured two figures on the road and a white Vauxhall Astra with its hazard lights flashing.

Footage from another bus caught the same car with both front doors open. 

The vehicle was later confirmed to have been hired from Dover after police caught its registration number and traced it as it left London for Kent.

Today the court heard investigators are still analysing scientific evidence relating to Wayne Couzens’ own car, into which he transferred Ms Everard from the hire car he used to kidnap her.

They believe it could establish where it was she was raped and murdered by the killer. 

Her disappearance saw a major Metropolitan Police investigation launched before her burnt body was found a week later in woodland in Kent.

When the killer first appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on March 13, prosecutor Zoe Martin detailed how the investigation began the day after Ms Everard was last seen.

‘Sarah Everard saw a friend in the Clapham Junction area, on March 3 and bought a bottle of wine.

‘She left that address at about 9pm to come home. Her address was about two and half miles away and a 9.15pm she called her boyfriend for about 15 minutes.

‘That call finished at 9.28pm and there has been no further activity on her phone since then. 

‘She was reported missing at 8.10pm on March 4 after she failed to meet her boyfriend as arranged.

‘Investigating officers became involved on Friday March 5. Sarah Everard was captured on CCTV at 9.15pm.

‘The next siting was at 9.28pm and again she was alone.

‘At 9.38pm a bus camera captures two figures standing by a White Vauxhall Astra. One of the figures had lighter clothing and the other darker clothing.

‘Another bus camera also capture the same vehicle. The registration of the vehicle was captured and the police tracked the vehicle using CCTV.’

The Vauxhall drove to Tilmanstone in Kent.

‘The white Vauxhall Astra is a hire car with Enterprise Car Hire in Dover. On 28 February 2021 Wayne Couzens (WC) booked a hire car using his name, address and two different mobile numbers.

‘He paid a deposit using his bank card. WC collected the white Vauxhall Astra seen in the CCTV on Wednesday 3 March 2021 at 16.45 and returned it at approximately 08.30 on 4 March 2021.

‘On investigating the telephone numbers given to Enterprise it is discovered that WC is a serving police officer; it is the same mobile number on his personal records at the MPS.

‘He is currently employed within the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Group and is a trained firearms officer.

‘On 2 March 2021 at 19.00 he started work at his base in Lille Road, West Brompton and worked a 12-hour shift. He then began a period of leave and was not due back at work until Monday 8 March.

‘On 5 March he reported to work that he was suffering with stress. On 6 March he emailed his supervisor to say that he no longer wanted to carry a firearm. On 8 March he reported in sick.’

Couzens was arrested at his home in Deal on 9 March and interviewed but told investigators a pack of absurd lies.

He initially said he ‘did not know Sarah Everard ‘.

‘He then disclosed that he had financial difficulties and he and his family were being threatened by a gang of Eastern Europeans,’ said the prosecutor.

‘He said that 2/3 weeks ago he had underpaid a prostitute (he usually meets them at Hotel Bursten or the Holiday Inn in Folkestone) and a gang with links to this prostitute told him that, as a consequence, he had to deliver them ‘another girl’.

‘They said that if he didn’t, they would harm his family. He also detailed that that the gang had been watching him at his house.

‘He said he kidnapped SE and drove her out of London. When he got between Ashford and Maidstone, he was flashed by a Mercedes Van with Romanian number plates. 

‘He pulled into a layby and three Eastern European men got out of the van and took SE.

‘This was between 23.00 and 23.30 on 3 March 2021 and she was still alive and uninjured when he delivered her to the men.

‘He gave a description of the men and a rough indication of the location of the exchange. 

‘Police established that WC and his wife purchased a small area of land in 2019.

‘The woodland is off Fridd Lane in Ashford. This together with the phone data which will be briefly summarised, led to the area being designated as a crime scene.

‘At about 16.45 on 10 March 2021 a body was discovered approximately 100 meters away from the area owned by WC. The body was in a large green builders’ bag and deposited in a stream. As referred to, dental records have confirmed that this is the body of SE.’

Couzens had made several recent purchases on Amazon.

On 28 February, the day he booked the hire car, he purchased a roll of self-adhesive film advertised as a carpet protector.

On 5 March Couzens was seen on CCTV at B&Q in Dover purchasing two green rubble bags for £9.94. The transcation is confirmed from his banking records.

On 6 March the officer ordered a two metre by 2 metre tarpaulin and a bungee cargo net. The items were shipped to him the next day.

Ms Everard’s phone has never been found.

Couzens’ mobile was seized but it had been wiped of all data at 7.11pm on March 9.

Earlier in the case’s long history Couzens’ lawyer Jim Sturman QC said: ‘Responsibility for the killing is also admitted.’ 

During a previous hearing in June via videolink Couzens sat with his head bowed, only repeating ‘guilty sir’ when charges were put to him.

Sarah’s family were in court that day too for the  20-minute hearing and saw him make his pleas.

Today Tom Little, QC, prosecuting, told the court: ‘Before the defendant kidnapped Sarah Everard, he had not previously met her, he did not know her, and did not have direct or indirect contact with her.

‘They were total strangers to each other.’ 

Psychiatric reports are yet to be prepared, and Lord Justice Fulford said: ‘This has been a mammoth investigation which has produced some very significant results to establish what happened.

Mr Little said: ‘It was a very swift investigation in which the defendant was identified very quickly given the limited CCTV evidence available to identify the suspect.’ 

Jim Sturman, QC, for Couzens, said: ‘He has pleaded guilty today based on genuine guilt.

‘He accepts that the victims in this case are Ms Everard’s family and friends, not him.

‘He will bear this burden for the rest of his life and in his words ‘I deserve it’.’  

Lord Justice Fulford remanded Couzens in custody ahead of a two day sentence listed to begin on September 29.

The prosecution had objected to bail when Couzens first appeared at the Old Bailey in March over fears he would kill himself.

Mr Little had said: ‘The objections to bail are failure to surrender second a fear of further offending and third remand for the defendants own protection.

‘In relation to a failure to surrender we rely on the gravity of the offences, the strength of the evidence and the substantial media coverage setting out what we submit is a substantial risk that he will try to abscond if granted bail.

‘He obviously has some knowledge having trained as a police officer which might assist him in that regard. 

Couzens is a member of the elite Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection squad – a role that entitled him to carry a firearm and a Metropolitan Police warrant card.

Formed in 2015, the unit is responsible for the protection of government owned buildings and embassies as well as ministers and visiting heads of state.

As part of his armed duties protecting MPs and dignitaries, Couzens has provided static security for major public events attended by senior members of the Royal Family.

All police recruits undergo careful vetting to check whether they have a criminal record when they join the force.

To be accepted into the elite Westminster armed unit, officers must face rigorous tests and firearms training.

Scotland Yard has referred itself to the police watchdog over the arrest of its own officer and separately over the force’s actions after Sarah was reported missing.

It was previously revealed she spent a quarter of an hour on the phone making plans to see her boyfriend Josh Lowth the following day, before her mobile was either switched off or ran out of battery.

Mr Lowth, 33, whose LinkedIn says he is Marketing Director at MA Exhibitions, later raised the alarm to police when she failed to meet him as she had arranged, her aunt confirmed.