The mother of murdered marketing executive Sarah Everard has told the Old Bailey of her “agony” after her daughter went missing and was later found murdered.
Sarah vanished on 3 March as she walked home from a friend's house in south London. Her body was later found burned and dumped in a pond in woods in Kent.
Wayne Couzens has admitted abducting, raping and murdering her and faces a mandatory life sentence.
Sarah’s mother, Susan Everard, told the Old Bailey on Wednesday 29 September: “Sarah died in horrendous circumstances. It is torture to think of it. Sarah was handcuffed, unable to defend herself and there was no-one to rescue her.”
“She died because Wayne Couzens wanted to satisfy his perverted desires….how could he value a human life so cheaply? I cannot comprehend it. I am incandescent with rage at the thought of it…I am haunted by the horror of it,” she added.
Couzens, who had joined the Metropolitan Police in September 2018, moved to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in February 2020.
On 3 March - during the lockdown - he rented a hire car and then pulled over as Sarah walked home from a friend’s house. He pretended he was arresting her for breaching Covid laws, handcuffed her and took her in the car to woods in Kent where he raped and strangled her.
Wayne Couzens
© Photo : Metropolitan Police
In court, Sarah’s father Jeremy Everard told Couzens: “Sarah was handcuffed and unable to defend herself. This preys on my mind all the time. You burnt our daughter’s body - you further tortured us - so that we could not see her again. You stopped us seeing Sarah for one last time and stopped me from giving my daughter one last kiss goodbye.”
Sarah’s sister Katie broke down as she made her victim impact statement.
“You used your warrant card to trick my sister into your car. She sat in a car handcuffed for hours…What lies did you tell her? When did she realise that she wasn’t going to survive the night?” Katie Everard said.
She told Couzens: "You treated Sarah as if she was nothing. Placed more emphasis on satisfying your sick disgusting perversions than on a life. You disposed of my sister's body like it was rubbish."