SARAH Everard’s family has said their beloved daughter died because Wayne Couzens was a cop.
The heartbroken relatives of 33-year-old Sarah have blasted the system that allowed her killer to become an officer – and said she was massively let down.
Couzens, now 51, tried to kidnap a woman at knifepoint and sexually assaulted a young girl before he murdered Sarah, a damning report revealed today.
The shocking dossier also reveals how Met firearms officer Couzens raped two women but went undetected by at least three bungling police forces who failed to spot the “red flags”.
The complainants came forward to accuse Couzens of the sex crimes following his arrest for Sarah’s murder in March 2021, it emerged today.
The landmark Angiolini Inquiry report concluded that Couzens should never have been a police officer.
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Sarah’s family echoed that in a statement today and said tragic Sarah would still be here if Couzens wasn’t in a position of trust.
They bravely said: “It is obvious that Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer.
“Whilst holding a position of trust, in reality he was a serial sex offender.
“Warning signs were overlooked throughout his career and opportunities to confront him were missed.
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“We believe that Sarah died because he was a police officer – she would never have got into a stranger’s car.”
A series of “red flag” opportunities to oust him from the force and stop his offending was also missed by three different forces.
Kent Police bungled two investigations into indecent exposures carried out by Couzens, the first in 2015 while he was serving with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.
Glaring vetting failures were identified with Couzens landing sensitive firearms protection roles despite debts, being reported missing on one occasion and also linked to an indecent exposure in 2015.
The Angiolini report reveals for the first time how Couzens allegedly carried out a “very serious sexual assault” on a young girl “barely into her teens” while he was in his 20s.
Couzens was also accused of attempting to kidnap a woman at knifepoint in North London back in 1995 when he was aged 23.
The married father-of-two was further accused by two women of raping them, the report reveals.
The damning report also reveals…
- Couzens allegedly carried out a “very serious sexual assault” on a young girl while he was in his 20s
- He was also accused of attempting to kidnap a woman at knifepoint in North London back in 1995
- The father-of-two was further accused by two women of raping them
- One of the complainants alleged Couzens attacked her between late 2006 and early 2007 during a singles dating event at an East London bar
- The other claimed she was raped by Couzens under a bridge in London in October 2019
- In the summer of that year a man in drag wearing a blonde wig claimed Couzens inappropriately touched him in a Kent bar
One of the complainants alleged Couzens attacked her between late 2006 and early 2007 during a singles dating event at an East London bar.
The other claimed she was raped by Couzens under a bridge in London in October 2019.
In the summer of that year a man in drag wearing a blonde wig claimed Couzens inappropriately touched him in a Kent bar.
Sarah’s family read through the entire investigation and said it has helped them as a family – making sure “Sarah’s life was valued”.
They added: “The inquiry has raised many important issues and will undoubtedly help to establish changes that will improve the safety of women and girls.”
Couzens used his warrant card to stop Sarah for breaking lockdown rules on the South Circular Road on the night of March 3, 2021, as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, South London.
It is almost three years now since Sarah died. We no longer wait for her call; we no longer expect to see her
Sarah’s family
He then ordered Sarah into a hire car, handcuffed her to a door and drove to Kent.
Couzens then raped and strangled the accounts executive before burning her body.
Couzens, attached to the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection unit(PaDP), was arrested at his family home in Deal, Kent, six days after murdering Sarah.
Her remains were found the following day in builders bags disposed of in a pond close to a smallholding owned by Couzens in woodland near Ashford.
Couzens was given a whole life sentence at the Old Bailey in September 2021 after earlier pleading guilty to the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah.
Following national outrage over the case and concerns about women’s safety, former Home Secretary Priti Patel commissioned an inquiry by Lady Elish Angiolini, KC.
Sarah’s family added that they are thankful for the inquiry and hope positive change will come from it.
They continued: “We have read, with great interest, the first part of the Angiolini inquiry and we are enormously grateful to Lady Elish and her team for their meticulous and in-depth work.
“As a family, we have not had to fight for answers and, for this, we are very thankful.
Potential drivers for Couzens’ offending
By JULIA ATHERLEY
WAYNE Couzens’ had a “long-held callous and scornful attitude towards women”, the Inquiry found.
Given that he had got away with committing offences such as indecent exposure for decades, Couzens may have been “emboldened” by the fact that he was never caught.
The report found: “Couzens hid his offending in plain sight, lying overtly to assume the powers of a police constable and to achieve status as a hyper-masculine firearms officer.
“The fact that he had never been caught for the offences he committed in public prior to Sarah Everard’s murder may have emboldened him.”
Forensic clinical psychologist Dr Adrian West concluded that gun cop Couzens had a “background of established sexual deviancy and perversion”.
He could have felt “his compulsion” to carry out the attack on a woman “for some time”.
The Metropolitan police believe that car journeys he made to London prior to kidnapping Sarah Everard were “hunting trips” where he looked for potential victims.
Dr West told the Inquiry that the increase in indecent exposure incidents could have been an attempt to signal his own dangerousness.
Couzens could have been “acutely aware of the impending homicidal threat that he posed but his associated levels of preoccupation and arousal were more than enough to distract him from any conscious thoughts of anxiety of guilt”.
He is also reported to have shown a “sense of excitement” on the day he claimed he was going to work an overtime shift, but was in fact planning to kidnap, rape, and murder his victim.
Given Couzens’ brazen crimes and how well he was able to hide in plain sight, the report recommends that “efforts need to be made to reveal those within the workforce who pose a greater risk to the public when entrusted with the powers of the office of constable and are able to disguise themselves as good officers”.
“We strongly support the recommendations that Lady Elish has made and trust that these will be implemented forthwith.
“We cannot get Sarah back, but positive changes give hope for the future and will be of benefit to others.
“It is almost three years now since Sarah died. We no longer wait for her call; we no longer expect to see her.
“We know she won’t be there at family gatherings. But the desperate longing to have her with us remains and the loss of Sarah pervades every part of our lives.
“The care and support of family, friends and the wider community have helped us to bear this and we would like to thank them.
“We will be forever grateful to Lady Elish and her team for their hard work, support and consideration.”
The first part of her inquiry – into the circumstances of Sarah’s murder by Couzens – was published this morning.
This all enabled him to target vulnerable women while operating in plain sight as an apparently unremarkable officer
Lady Elish
It makes 15 key recommendations “to help prevent a situation where anyone entrusted with the powers of a serving police officer abuses that trust in such a heinous way again.”
Lady Elish said Sarah’s murder by Couzens had damaged the police and its reputation as a whole.
She warned: “Without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another Wayne Couzens operating in plain sight.”
The Scottish lawyer said in a statement: “Sarah’s murder by an off-duty police officer shocked the nation.
“It triggered a surge of discourse about women’s safety in public spaces and started a tidal wave of reporting on police misconduct, particularly where officers misused their powers to commit sexual offences.
“What is already clear is how much damage Couzens has done to the social contract on which policing is based and how significant improvements are required.”
Lady Elish said: “The evidence seen by this Inquiry has shown that failures in recruitment and vetting meant Couzens was able to continue a policing career which should have been denied to him.
“Failures in investigations into allegations of indecent exposure meant opportunities to disrupt Couzens’ offending and bring his policing career to a halt were missed.”
Lady Elish said Couzens’ had manipulated information about himself on application forms and “carefully managed the impression he gave people of himself.”
She added that Couzens had shared his “callous” views of women with a very small group of people on a social media group.
Lady Elish went on: “This all enabled him to target vulnerable women while operating in plain sight as an apparently unremarkable officer.
“However, the fact remains that three separate police forces allowed him the privilege of being a police officer when they could and should have stopped him.”
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She said of the monster hiding in the ranks: “Wayne Couzens is a predatory sex offender and murderer.
“Evidence of his alleged sexual offending, his preference for extreme and violent pornography and his unmanaged debts date back to nearly 20 years prior to Sarah’s murder.”
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Julia Atherley
