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Reuters

A British police officer on Friday admitted murdering Sarah Everard whose killing sparked anger and soul-searching across the country about what police, government and society can do to stop male violence against women.
Wayne Couzens, 48, a London officer who guarded diplomatic premises, had previously admitted rape and kidnap.
Everard, 33, was abducted as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London on March 3 and her body was later found in woodland around 80km away in southeast England.
A postmortem last month concluded she had died as a result of compression of the neck.
Police slammed for crackdown on protesters at vigil for Sarah Everard
Appearing by video link from prison for a hearing at London’s Old Bailey Court, Couzens, bearded and wearing a blue sweatshirt sat 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 before kidnapping her from London’s South Circular road and were “total strangers”.
Little said it might not be possible to determine exactly what had happened, and the judge Adrian Fulford said Couzens had previously only given an entirely false account of events.
“This has been a mammoth investigation which has produced some very significant results in terms of being able to understand what happened,” Fulford said.

Couzens’ lawyer James Sturman said his client’s pleas represented “truly genuine guilt and remorse for what he did.”
“As he put it to us this morning he will bear this burden for the rest of his life, and he deserves to – his words ‘and I deserve to’. He accepts the victims in this case are the Everard family and friends, not him,” Sturman told the court.
A two-day sentencing hearing, which will consider psychiatric reports, will begin on September 29.
Everard’s murder provoked outpourings of anger from women who have recounted their own experiences and fears of walking the streets on their own at night, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to promise action including money for better street lighting.


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Britain

UK police officer Wayne Couzens pleads guilty to Sarah Everard’s murder

A makeshift memorial to honour Sarah Everard at the bandstand on Clapham Common in south London. File photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 15, 2021 well-wishers gather beside floral tributes to honour murder victim Sarah Everard at the bandstand on Clapham Common in southwest London. - Police officer Wayne Couzens has pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard on July 9, 2021. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP)

British police officer Wayne Couzens has pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard. File photo: Metropolitan Police via AFP

London police chief Cressida Dick defies calls to resign over Sarah Everard vigil clashes

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick. Photo: Reuters

CORRECTION / An undated handout picture released by the Metropolitan Police on March 10, 2021, shows missing Sarah Everard who went missing in south London on the night of March 3. - A police officer in London's diplomatic protection force was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder following the disappearance of a 33-year-old woman while she was walking home, police said. The arrest follow a week-long investigation into the disappearance of Sarah Everard, who vanished while walking home from a friend's flat in south London on the evening of March 3. (Photo by - / METROPOLITAN POLICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / METROPOLITAN POLICE " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by - has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: THE FOLLOWING RESTRICTIONS WERE ADDED TO THE USE OF THESE PICTURES: RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATO

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Secretary of State of the Home Department Priti Patel speaks to the media at Westminster, in London, Britain, January 18, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

14 March 2021, United Kingdom, London: Floral tributes are left at the Bandstand on Clapham Common, a day after clashes between police and crowds who gathered at the site to remember Sarah Everard. The Metropolitan Police has faced intense criticism for its handling of the vigil, with officers accused of "grabbing and manhandling" women during clashes with the crowd. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire/dpa

People face off police officers during a protest at Parliament Square, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain March 14, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

Sarah Everard case: elite UK police officer suspected of murder

CCTV footage of Sarah Everard in south London. Photo: AFP

10 March 2021, United Kingdom, Ashford: Police officers search a property near Great Chart Golf and Leisure Park. A serving Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Everard who has been missing for a week. The 33-year-old disappeared on Wednesday 03 March after leaving a friend's house in Clapham, south London. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa

An undated handout picture released by the Metropolitan Police on March 10, 2021, shows missing Sarah Everard who went missing in south London on the might of March 3. - A police officer in London's diplomatic protection force was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder following the disappearance of a 33-year-old woman while she was walking home, police said. The arrest follow a week-long investigation into the disappearance of Sarah Everard, who vanished while walking home from a friend's flat in south London on the evening of March 3. (Photo by - / METROPOLITAN POLICE / AFP)

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Couzens had previously admitted rape and kidnap
The 33-year-old was abducted as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London in March



Couzens had previously admitted rape and kidnap.


Crime

Boris Johnson

UK police officer Wayne Couzens pleads guilty to Sarah Everard’s murder

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Couzens had previously admitted rape and kidnap The 33-year-old was abducted as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London in March

Couzens had previously admitted rape and kidnap

The 33-year-old was abducted as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London in March