The Kidnap & Murder of Sarah Everard | Solved

Sarah Everard

[As you are probably aware, unfortunately this case has taken a heartbreaking turn. I originally posted about Sarah's story earlier in the week in the hopes that someone would maybe be able to help with some information as I know I have a lot of followers who live in London. I have been posting updates here at the end of my post and continue to follow the case. I will continue to regularly update this post whenever a piece of new information becomes available concerning the suspect, Wayne Couzens. Thank you to everyone who shared my post and the information poster, obviously we are all heartbroken about what has happened and it has raised a lot of serious issues concerning the safety of women on our streets and obviously the shocking revelation that the suspect is indeed a serving police officer, you can understand the anxiety and questions this has raised. This beautiful, talented woman was taken from her family and it's important that her murderer is brought to justice. As mentioned before, I will keep this post regularly updated] 

Please be aware that some of the details shared in this post may be disturbing. 

It's been almost a week since the beautiful 33 year old Sarah Everard left her friend's house in Clapham, London to walk home to where she lived in Brixton. However, Sarah never got home and hasn't been seen since. Her boyfriend, family and friends are worried sick and together with the police they are trying to find out where Sarah is and hopefully get her back home safely where she belongs.

Nearby areas, ponds, drains are being thoroughly searched by investigation teams and sniffer dogs but so far there has been no clue as to where Sarah is or what happened to her. 

Sarah is a marketing manager in a happy long term relationship with her boyfriend and is very close with her family and friends, for her just to disappear like this is completely out of character. 

After spending time with her friend on Wednesday the 3rd of March 2021, Sarah decided to walk home. The time was 9pm and police estimate that it would take her at least 50 minutes to get home. It's unclear why she decided to walk home, maybe she wanted to stop off at a shop or something?

The police believe that she had walked across Clapham Common towards where she lived in Brixton and the last known footage of her movements was spotted on CCTV in an area called Poynders Road. After that, there is no further sighting. 

The area where Sarah is said to have vanished is known to have had previous incidences where women have been attacked. Since Sarah was reported missing the police have had reports from other women to say that they have been attacked or followed in that area.

Her family have tried to call her but say that her phone is not ringing.

At the time of writing, the police have sealed off apartments in the area as they continue their search. I will update this blog when any new information is available. I pray that she is found safe and well. Please keep Sarah in your prayers and if there's anyone out there who knows any information, no matter how small, please get in touch with the police asap.

Sarah is 5ft 4in with blonde hair and is of slim build. She was wearing a green waterproof rain jacket, navy blue trousers with a white diamond design & green trainers (I don't know why the information on the poster says white trainers, you can see from the picture above that the trainers are green). She also had a white or nude pink beanie hat and face mask on, She also had a set of earphones and her phone with her. 

The police are appealing for anyone who may have CCTV footage in the following areas:

- The A205 South Circular around Clapham Common.

- Cavendish Road

- New Park Road

- Brixton Hill

- Brixton Water Lane

(Last known picture/footage of Sarah on the night she went missing. Picture credit: Daily Mail)


If there's anyone out there who knows anything or has seen Sarah, please call the Incident Room on 0208 785 8244 

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 


I'm keeping Sarah, her family and the people who are working hard to find her, in my prayers 


Updates: 

9th of March 2021: A police officer has been arrested in connection with Sarah's disappearance. A woman at the same address as this man has also been arrested & charged with assisting an offender!

10th of March 2021: The police officer and the woman who is being charged with assisting him are still in police custody. The police officer was not on duty at the time of Sarah's disappearance. The police are now searching a disused paintball facility as well as woodland in an area of Kent which is 1 hour and 14 minutes from where Sarah was last seen. A car has also been taken away by the forensic team.

It has been confirmed that the woman arrested alongside the police officer is his wife. 

The serving police officer who has been arrested (along with his wife) in connection to Sarah's disappearance is being named in the press as 48 year old father of two, Wayne Couzens.

(Wayne Couzens and his wife Lena. Elena was also arrested alongside him on suspicion of assisting an offender, she has been released on bail until April. Picture credit: The Sun)

The police have confirmed that Wayne Couzens is being held in suspicion of kidnap, murder and indecent exposure.

The police reported on the late evening of Wednesday 10th of March 2021 that during their search of woodlands in Kent, that sadly some human remains were found.

11th of March 2021: Wayne Couzens is taken to hospital after an incident at the police station where he sustained a head injury. He was found unconscious in his cell. No further details were released on how he obtained the injury. He was quickly released from the hospital and returned to custody for further questioning.

12th of March 2021: The police sadly announced the confirmation that the human remains were that of Sarah Everard. Wayne Couzens remains in police custody. 

On the evening of Friday the 12th of March 2021, Wayne Couzens was officially charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard. 

A police watchdog is investigating the 'indecent exposure' incident involving Wayne Couzens just three days before Sarah went missing. Wayne had apparently exposed himself in a McDonald's restaurant. 

Wayne Couzens had only been in the police force for 3 years, before that he worked in his family garage business. He was also said to have been on duty up until 90 minutes before he kidnapped Sarah. 

 13th of March 2021: Wayne Couzens appeared in court to confirm his name, address, date of birth etc. He was taken back into custody and is to appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday the 16th of March. His wife has been released on bail. 

(Center: Wayne Couzens at his first court appearance to confirm his date of birth & address. Picture credit: The Guardian)

It was also revealed in court (on the 13th of March) that Sarah's remains were found in a large builder's bag and she had to be identified by her dental records. 

Wayne Couzens was taken to hospital again on Friday for another head injury but was quickly returned back into custody. 

Sarah's phone has still not been found. The last person she spoke to on the phone before she was kidnapped by Wayne Couzens, was her boyfriend. 

A public vigil for Sarah had been cancelled due to the Covid pandemic but organisers announced on Sky News that they were planning an online vigil for Sarah. At 9:30pm on the 13th of March, people were asked to light a candle and stand at their doorsteps in tribute to Sarah and many other women who had fallen victim to acts of violence. 

(The Clapham Vigil. Picture credit: bbc)

On the afternoon (and into the evening) of Saturday the 13th of March, despite the announcement that the public vigil had been cancelled, quite a number of women still went to Clapham to lay flowers and pay their respects. It was a peaceful event with even Kate Middleton in attendance at one point. As night dawned the police arrived and started to arrest the women who were just paying tribute to Sarah & other victims of violence, this sparked a riot with the police behaving in a hard handed manner. Many people recorded the scene and posted videos online. An investigation into how the police handled this situation is under investigation. 

14th of March 2021: The very next day after the vigil, thousands of people gathered outside the Metropolitan Police's headquarters in London to protest at the police's conduct during the vigil. There have been calls by some of the public for the London Met Police commissioner, Cressida Dick to resign but she has no plans to do so. 

15th of March 2021: The police are currently searching an area of Kent known as Sandwich. A post-mortem examination on Sarah has already been carried out but cause of death has still not been released to the public. 

Wayne Couzen's wife Elena who is currently on bail until April is reportedly 'living in fear' because of social media trolls. Elena was arrested alongside her husband and was charged with assisting an offender. Her mother (who considers Wayne to be a son and not a son-in-law) appears to be standing by Wayne and thinks that he's innocent. Its unknown what Elena and her mother think of the fact that Wayne indecently exposed himself in McDonald's just days before he kidnapped Sarah. The Wayne that they know is obviously different to the person that he really is but you can't really continue to be in denial when the evidence and facts are there, this man was a predator and clearly living a double life. 


15th of March 2021 Continued: On Monday evening it was reported by Sky News that a Metropolitan police officer who was involved in the search for Sarah has been transferred from his role to another department in the force due to sharing a confidential graphic on Friday. This officer has now been placed in a non-public facing role whilst an investigation into his conduct takes place.

The police are still continuing to search the Sandwich area of Kent with focus also on a supermarket car park and a river in the town. 

16th of March 2021: Wayne Couzens appeared via video-link at the Old Bailey in London from Belmarsh Prison to confirm his name and address (he had a cut above his left eye and on the top of his head and swayed from side to side with his head down throughout the 27 minute hearing according to The Telegraph). 

He has a scheduled plea hearing on the 9th of July and a provisional trial date set for the 25th of October. 

The police are continuing to search areas around Sandwich in Kent. A gold necklace was found in the supermarket car park that I mentioned earlier. The police have placed the item into evidence for more investigation, they have not confirmed yet if the necklace is connected to Sarah. 

17th of March 2021: A second post-mortem was carried out on Sarah's remains on the afternoon of the 17th of March. The result was also inconclusive. The police are continuing to search areas of Kent. 

The Daily Mail reported that Wayne Couzens will be receiving his 'full Met Police salary of at least £33,000 during criminal proceedings'

18th of March 2021: An inquest into Sarah's death was held today, her family attended via video-link. A coroner has allowed Sarah's remains to be given to her family so that they can prepare a funeral for her. The inquest was quickly adjourned pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. 


20th of March 2021: The Daily Mail reported on the 20th of March that CCTV cameras have been set up outside of Wayne Couzens home due to fear of vigilante attacks. His wife, who is still on bail, is said to have returned to the property with their two children. 

26th of April 2021: According to the police, forensic investigators are still no clearer (more than six weeks after she disappeared ) on how exactly Sarah died. 

1st of June 2021: The Metropolitan Police confirmed that an autopsy revealed that Sarah Everard's cause of death was said to have been from strangulation. 

8th of June 2021: Wayne Couzens has confessed to the rape and kidnapping of Sarah Everard. He has not yet confessed to her murder. His next hearing is due to go ahead next month. 

9th of July 2021: Wayne Couzens appeared in court and confessed to the rape, kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everard. He is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on the 29th of September. Wayne Couzens had abducted Sarah in a hire car and on CCTV the pair were seen stood on the pavement talking on the night that Sarah vanished. The Guardian newspaper also reported that Wayne had been previously accused of indecent exposure back in 2015, an investigation into this is ongoing. 

29th of September 2021: Wayne Couzens is due to return to the Old Bailey to be sentenced for the kidnapping, rape & murder of Sarah Everard. It was also revealed that on the night of Sarah's abduction, Wayne had actually stopped Sarah and 'arrested' her in the pretence that she was going against Covid Lockdown rules. Wayne Couzens would often take his police badge and handcuffs home with him and it is believe that this was how he was able to get Sarah into his car. Sarah was described by loved ones and fellow colleagues as 'very intelligent' and she would not have gotten into that car without force. 

During the first day of sentencing hearing, the court heard some harrowing details of how Wayne Couzens kidnapped Sarah and drove away with her. Sarah's blood was found in the front seat, backseats and boot of his car, there was also evidence that he had sexually assaulted Sarah in the car. The court also heard how he had strangled Sarah with his belt and disposed of her body by setting fire to her remains in an old refrigerator. 

The court heard emotional impact statements from Sarah's family and it was announced that the court would reconvene the following day where Wayne Couzens would learn of his sentence. 

30th of September 2021: The day Wayne Couzens is sentenced for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. More details were revealed that Wayne had taken his family to the same site for a picnic where he had dumped Sarah's remains just days before. The murder was also pre-planned, Wayne was looking for a potential victim and had an obsession with violent sex. As the Judge came to his conclusion and decision on Wayne's fate he said the horrific and sad but true words that Sarah Everard was ''Raped and strangled to death''. Wayne Couzens had been planning to rape and murder a potential victim for a month, he drove around London seeking the opportunity to do so. 

Wayne Couzens did the best that he could to lie, manipulate police and cover up his horrendous crime, he even told investigators that an unknown gang were after him and his family so he had to quickly find girls for this gang. He said that he picked up Sarah but the gang took her away. After he murdered Sarah, Wayne calmly and collectively went to a coffee shop and ordered a drink and a pastry. He acted like everything was normal. His family were unaware of what had taken place.  It's unknown if there was a history of violence towards his wife but we know he had indecently exposed himself before to members of the public. 

Wayne Couzens has never offered any explanation as to why he did what he did. He is without care and self focused and his actions before, during and after Sarah's murder show what a cold hearted and sadistic individual he truly is. 

Wayne Couzens was sentenced to a full life term meaning that he will die in prison. I just want to give a shoutout to The Telegraph for the exceptional coverage of this 2 day sentencing. 

Updates:

Wednesday 27th of October 2021. Wayne Couzens has put in an appeal to have his sentence reduced. Wayne was sentenced to a full life order in September of this year. 

Friday 18th of March 2022: The press announced that Wayne Couzens has been charged with 4 counts of Indecent exposure from incidents that took place in January and February 2021, just weeks before the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Public outrage has understandably remained in this case all the way through and this news will add further disgust as the fact that Wayne was able continue to not only remain as part of the police force but that he wasn't closely monitored. 


I'm thinking of Sarah, her family and all women who have lost their lives at the hands of evil men. I'm also thinking of the women who are currently going through a difficult situation and the brave survivors who speak out and try to support other victims of violence. 



I have also been following the latest updates from the police on this case: Met Police / Met Police UK 


You can find all of my social media links here


Please check out my YouTube channel

Thank you for taking the time to read my latest post x

20 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing that article Jo ! I know that you'll keep us posted if there is any news. I'm praying for Sarah Everard. Hopefully, she's safe.

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  2. Absolutely heartbreaking. I truly feel for her family and for her boyfriend. I hope they find her safe and okay. 🙏🏼

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  3. Jo thank you so much for sharing these updates about Sarah Everard I hope the police find more clues and find Sarah or her remains 😍

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  4. Thank you so much for all the updates Jo. I am glad that they arrested the police officer. We will know more soon 🙏🙏🙏

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  5. Thank you Jo for the lastest update. Sadly, it's shocking and heartbreaking development. I feel so bad for her familly and for his boyfriend. I'm so sorry. Hopefully, we will hknow more soon because right now, there is a lot of unanswered questions.

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    1. ***Hopefully, we will know more soon...Sorry for the typo.

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  6. Thankfully, this guy has been charged with murder ! I'm so sorry. I feel for the familly & friends of Sarah. I feel so sad for the boyfriend of Sarah too. Heartbreaking... RIP Sarah Everard.

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  7. Thank you much for all your Saturday morning updates Jo 🙏⚖️🕯️

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  8. So, Wayne Couzens was taken to hospital again with another heads injury ? Did he try to killed himself ? Thank you so much for your update ! Your blog is always open, and I'm following everything.

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  9. Every day more heartbreaking news, so many questions that remain unanswered. As always your work is incredible and the day to day coverage that you have done is amazing.

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  10. Thank you for your every day update. I was crying tonight when I saw your amazing video tribute for Sarah.I want to know what was happening even if it's going to be difficult to read...Justice will prevail⚖️🕯️🙏 RIP Sarah Everard ⚖️🙏🕯️⚖️🖤 Thank you for your incredible work Jo Xxx

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  11. Thank you so much for your latest update Jo. The mother of the suspect is in denial. What is going to happen to Couzens wife is still unclear. You are so amazing Jo. Thank you for everything.

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  12. Thank you Jo for your latest update. Obviously, justice take time but at least, there is a plea hearing and a provisional Court date ⚖️⚖️🙏🙏🙏🖤

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  13. Thank you so much everyone for the comments, praying that Sarah and her family get justice x

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    1. I am praying every day. Thank you for your latest update from today. Xxx

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  14. Thank you so much for the latest update about the inquest into Sarah's death. Sorry that it was adjourned but it's not surprising for now. The familly deserve some closure as soon as possible Xxx

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  15. Thank you for the latest update Jo. It's heartbreaking. I hope that Wayne Couzens will spend the rest of his days in prison. RIP Sarah Everard. My thought are with the family.

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  16. Thank you Jo for your latest update of today. At least he confessed about the kidnapping and the rape. I'm glad that he had a Court date next month, hopefully things will advance.

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  17. Thank you so much for the latest update Jo ⚖️

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  18. Thank you for you latest update Jo. I am glad to see that Wayne Couzens has been charged with four counts of indecent exposure. Still can't believe that he didn't have any sanction previously to his horrendous crime. Thank you Jo Xx

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