The BBC reports that the 33-year-old Everard was walking down a sidewalk between the neighborhoods of Clampton Common and Tulse Hill on March 3, 2021 when Couzens stopped her on behalf of “breaching coronavirus guidelines.” A couple passing in a car spotted the 48-year-old officer, who was met with no resistance, handcuffing his victim and placing her in the back seat of his car (which happened to be a rental). He shortly thereafter transferred her to his own vehicle and, after driving her out to Dover in Kent, raped her, strangled her to death with his own belt, and then burned her body in an attempt to dispose of it. She was located days later after being reported missing.
Wayne Cousins was arrested at his own residence after a thorough investigation connected him to the murder. After pleading guilty and being discharged from the police force, legal undertakings commenced. He appeared before the court with “his head bowed and his eyes closed,” according to CNN.
