Sarah Everard

On the evening of March 3, 2021, 33-year-old Sarah Everard left a friend's house in Clapham, south London, to walk home to Brixton Hill, a journey of about 50 minutes. She was seen on CCTV walking along the A205 Poynders Road near Clapham Common at approximately 9:30 p.m. She never arrived home.

Sarah's boyfriend reported her missing the following day when she failed to arrive at work. A major investigation was launched, and CCTV footage revealed that Sarah had been stopped near Clapham Common by a man who had used his Metropolitan Police warrant card and handcuffs to carry out a fake arrest, claiming she had violated COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

The man was identified as Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police diplomatic protection officer. He had hired a rental car for the abduction. Phone and CCTV evidence traced Couzens' movements as he drove Sarah to Kent, where he raped and strangled her. He burned her body in a refrigerator in an area of woodland near Ashford, Kent, where her remains were discovered on March 10.

Couzens was arrested on March 9 and charged with kidnap and murder. He pleaded guilty to both charges and on September 30, 2021, was sentenced to a whole-life order, meaning he will never be released from prison. The case provoked widespread outrage, vigils, and protests across the UK, sparking a national conversation about women's safety and leading to significant scrutiny of the Metropolitan Police's vetting procedures and culture.