Wayne Couzens is appealing his whole-life term

Wayne Couzens is appealing his whole-life term

Wayne Couzens is appealing his whole-life term

The police officer who murdered Sarah Everard is expected to challenge the length of his prison sentence at the Court of Appeal in early May.

Ex-PC Wayne Couzens was handed a whole-life term in September after kidnapping, raping and murdering the 33-year-old.

Couzens abducted Ms Everard as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3.

The depraved killer used Covid powers to conduct a fake arrest of the 33-year-old marketing executive as she walked home from a friend’s house in March, before committing crimes so horrific they shocked the nation and undermined confidence in the police.

The 48-year-old, who used his warrant card and handcuffs to carry out the crime, had been planning for at least a month before he targeted Ms Everard.  

In October, the Court of Appeal confirmed that an application to bring an appeal against Couzens’ sentence had been lodged.

On Friday, a Judicial Office spokesperson said that the hearing is likely to be in early May, adding that the date is not fixed and may change.

Couzens abducted Sarah Everard as she walked home from a friend's house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3

Couzens abducted Sarah Everard as she walked home from a friend's house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3

Couzens abducted Sarah Everard as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3

Sentencing Couzens at the Old Bailey earlier this year, Lord Justice Fulford said the circumstances of the case were ‘devastating, tragic and wholly brutal’ and were so exceptional that it warranted a whole-life order.

It was the first time the sentence had been imposed for a single murder of an adult not committed in the course of a terror attack.

The judge said: ‘The misuse of a police officer’s role such as occurred in this case in order to kidnap, rape and murder a lone victim is of equal seriousness as a murder for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.’

Couzens is one of over 60 criminals serving whole-life sentences. They are reserved for the most serious crimes such as serial killings and politically motivated murders. 

Couzens joins infamous killers such as British soldier Lee Rigby’s murderer Michael Adebolajo, police officer killer Dale Cregan and Mark Bridger, who murdered five-year-old April Jones.

The 48-year-old, who used his warrant card and handcuffs to carry out the crime, had been planning for at least a month before he targeted Ms Everard

The 48-year-old, who used his warrant card and handcuffs to carry out the crime, had been planning for at least a month before he targeted Ms Everard

Couzens after his arrest

Couzens after his arrest

The 48-year-old, who used his warrant card and handcuffs to carry out the crime, had been planning for at least a month before he targeted Ms Everard. Right: Couzens after his arrest 

Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley also got whole-life orders. Serial killer Levi Bellfield is unique in being given two.

The Met has faced a wave of criticism over missed opportunities to expose Couzens as a sexual predator before he went on to murder Miss Everard.

It emerged the 48-year-old was known as ‘the rapist’ by staff at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary because he made female colleagues feel so uncomfortable.

He had been accused of indecent exposure in Kent in 2015 and in London in the days before Ms Everard’s murder, but was allowed to continue working.

Priti Patel has announced there will be an independent inquiry into the ‘systematic failures’ that allowed Wayne Couzens to serve as a Met police officer. The Home Secretary said that ‘recent tragic events have exposed unimaginable failures in policing’.

She said that the public ‘have a right to know’ why Couzens was able to be employed by the Metropolitan Police.  

Source: Daily Mail

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