Flowers surround the Clapham Common bandstand memorial to Sarah Everard. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
A Metropolitan police officer has pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard.Appearing at the Old Bailey via videolink, PC Wayne Couzens, 48, accepted responsibility for the killing of Everard, who went missing in March after walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London. The 33-year-old’s remains were found a week later in woodland in Kent, with a postmortem revealing she died as a result of compression to the neck.Couzens, who worked as a diplomatic protection officer in London, did not enter a plea on the charge of murder.Everard’s death launched a widespread social media reckoning around violence against women. In the week following her death, large vigils took place in London, prompting clashes with the police.
