UK UK - Sarah Everard, 33, London - Clapham Common area, 3 March 2021 *Arrests* #6

[NottReds50]

This is interesting, I had noticed a black range rover parked up across the rod from house but further down road a couple of nights before leading up to arrest, it only stuck in my mind because when the children were taken out of there on Tuesday night they were put into a black range rover, maybe he was under surveillance then?

From the DM:

"But it was suggested last night that plain clothes officers may have been secretly monitoring the suspect's movements for days. "

 

[SofKat]

WC has has probably 'bettered himself' at least in his own eyes on a garage mechanic -> Nuclear Police -> Diplomatic Protection trajectory.

EC was already better than him, in terms of the status of her qualifications.

She wasn't British though.

I note that the more recent London job with its commute opened up opportunities to develop a secret life in a way that was not so easy when working locally. That variable time commute plus 'oh there was a couple of hours of overtime' would give cover when he got home.

I see that there are already suggestions as to how they met. The era of the Ukrainian honey trap scam has receded (not that they don't exist). I think the online Slavic bride era has also peaked, but again there is still formal marketing and increasing informal hooking up through social media. Ukraine is a very gendered society with an eclectic mix of reasserted traditionalism, some relic Soviet age attitudes and a drive / dreams for modernity. It is not uncommon for well qualified young women to look to better their chances abroad.

There aren't many Ukrainians in the UK. The link suggests 100,000 or so claiming Ukrainian heritage in the 'mid 2000s' and looking at past census data I would estimate that this year's will show about 30,000 recording Ukraine as their birthplace (with maybe another 80,000 sometimes recording their Ukrainian heritage). See especially last three paragraphs:

Ukrainians in the United Kingdom

 

[4NSIC]

Also, if two people have consensual sex and strangulation is involved, maybe from both parties and it goes to far with no intention, then it's an accident. I was not saying this happened for this case, it's not even crossed my mind, but I was giving an example where strangulation could be an "accident". It's a more common act than people would believe in couples.

You are correct and I have personal experience in my career of numerous cases of this nature.

 

[Kaykedi]

As a serving police man would he have access to computers to look up cases? Could he see what was used what people got away with? How different motives were put into practice etc just a theory!

No, he wouldn't have access to looking up cases at work. He would need to research on his own computer and in his own time, not in working hours irene009

 

[factorfiction77]

Hello! I'm a new member and signed up after following all 6 of these threads, to help me make sense of a case that has really hit home. I'm the same age as Sarah, similar uni and profession, lived in London for the same amount of time, have lived and walked alone like her, and the same build. My partner is a police officer with the Met as well, so WC's involvement has really horrified me.

I've been trying to figure out his motivations, and how pre meditated this was. The Sun has reported he was working at the US Embassy from 2-8pm the day he kidnapped her (linked below). Which leaves 1.5 hours before he encountered her.

Now I assumed that DPG would have to go back to their base (Palace of Westminster, where his locker is) to hand back gun and change out of uniform. My partner always needs to go back to base after his patrol to change out of uniform as you can't leave your shift in it, less so with gun and body armour. That's a 10 min drive from the US Embassy back to base. Maybe 20 mins to change and clock out. That leaves an hour before he's on Poynders Road. And it's only a 30 min drive from Westminster to Poynders Court. Still leaves 30 mins, where he was doing what?

Even if he was just faffing at base before leaving, Poynders Road, and Clapham/Brixton is NOT the straightforward or quickest route to get back to Kent from either Westminster or the US Embassy. Clapham is too South West for where he needed to get to - and would make more sense to go South East via Oval/Camberwell. So he deliberately detoured out of the way, adding mileage to an already 2 hour commute home? Why?

There was a lot of searching of the Clapham ponds, which makes me wonder if he stopped off in Clapham Common, and if so why? It's dark and late, raining, nothing open in the park. Was it to look for lone women and indecently expose himself as the Common is good for that? Maybe he disposed of something in the ponds, like his clothing if he was being perverted. If he had stopped, he is likely to have seen Sarah walk past, so is this when he decided to grab her? Or did he know Sarah and the plan always was to grab her that day -hence the detour?

Poynders Road is the South Circular. For him to have made a split second decision to grab her on this busy arterial road with fast moving traffic and no real place to stop, seems unlikely. It feels like he either noticed her in Clapham Common as she walked past or knew her and had planned it in advance.

I had initially considered whether he was just a gun for hire, and someone had paid him to kidnap her/scare her but with this indecent exposure charge, I do wonder if he had set out that evening with the intention of indecently exposing himself and it just escalated with Sarah.

I cannot work out how he got her in the car. It's likely he flashed his warrant card, but Sarah would want to look at it closely and ask questions. And I don't know how they'd have time for this encounter on that busy road where he's holding up traffic by stopping. I feel their searches of the kerb and drain must be related to this - but how? Is it possible she accidentally dropped her phone or something else in the drain while walking and he parked up to help her look?
Met cop 'may have used warrant card to entice Sarah Everard into car'

He could have been stalking her for 30 minutes maybe right from the beginning of her journey ?? That’s what happened to Libby Squire in that case he also went back to the area after the murder to commit another sexual act which makes me wonder about the alleged incident on Saturday at Clapham Common!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Ah thanks, I mentioned this earlier because several had been talking about the bus route from the Tfl camera, but couldn't remember where I saw.

I wonder if that was why they didn't show the doorbell footage as it also showed vehicles they were investigating? If he was in a hired car - intentional, for what he had in mind? - that would take longer to go through than doing a simple reg check which would come back to him.

Please forgive my ignorance. Since I began reading this thread, my curiosity of some unfamiliar terms is peaked. Will you or anyone help me to understand “hire car” and “warrant card?”

 

[Tothemoon22]

New member here! Pleased to have found somewhere with such respectful and considered discussion, thank you.

Where were the false plates found/reported please?

Also, if WC wasn't arrested until Tuesday night, I wonder where he was between Wednesday and then. Did he go to work? Did he return to the scene of the crime, the areas that have been searched around Kent? Has he been under surveillance for a few days prior to arrest? I can understand them easily tracking him to Kent once they had the dashcam from the bus - there can only have been a few cars in that time period to trace and question...but what pointed them to the golf course and disused leisure centre?

Regarding her phone, once he had her, it would have been easy for him to turn it off if she didn't have a screen lock code. Even a fingerprint lock he could've opened. If she did have a pin code then he'd have had to destroy it. Which seems like something you'd do as an afterthought not in the heat of the moment?

 

[ramsgate]

Going back over the last seven or eight years, there have been a fair few unsolved sex attacks in Kent committed by men whose age/build/e-fit seem quite a lot like WC.

Sevenoaks, September 2020: Woman lured to pervert's van by tale of sick child

"The suspect is described as white, in his mid-40s, 5ft 8in, of stocky build with receding shaved hair and stubble."

Ashford 'serial sex attack suspect', 2013:

Police hunt Ashford 'serial sex attack suspect'

The attacked is described as being white, bald, about 6ft 2in [obviously a disparity with WC's height] with a large frame and aged in his late 30s to late 40s.

Folkestone 2013, 'Man hunted over "knifepoint sex attack"'

"...in his mid-30s, 5ft 6ins, with short ginger or strawberry blonde hair and was unshaven. He is reported to have muscular arms"

Man hunted over 'knifepoint sex attack'

 

[NottReds50]

Please forgive my ignorance. Since I began reading this thread, my curiosity of some unfamiliar terms is peaked. Will you or anyone help me to understand “hire car” and “warrant card?”

Rental Car
Police Badge

Hire in the UK could mean Leased i.e over a longer periord paid montly the car garage basically

 

[Armchair_Defective]

Regarding how she got in the car, he was a police officer so he would have training in restraining people. She was a petite woman and if he came up behind her and did something quickly she also wouldn't have much time to think or react. It would be even more of a shock if she was distracted by looking at her phone or something like that. Then she's in a car that's locked and what can she do? Especially if he says he has a weapon.

 

[LeopardLeotard]

May I just add, that he would have been able to see that range rover, it was parked outside pittock house on freeman's way so a quick look out the window to his left would have let him see it, maybe they wanted him to know they were watching, to maybe spook him into revealing something through panic?

 

[4NSIC]

Thank you for your informative post.

It may be useful for you to become a verified professional on Websleuths. The process is described in the following:
Verification Process for Professional or Insider Posters As far as I am aware, you can then post professional opinions without the need to have supporting links.

Thank you for your suggestion. Sadly, given my current role & area of research I don’t think I could take the risk. But I will endeavour to post helpful info if at all possible.

 

[juniper6]

I might be wrong here, but aren’t lease vehicles usually on a 3 year buy or return deal? Both cars taken away from the property were significantly older with circa 100k miles on the clock each. Would a lease car not be newer?

Typically 3-4 years and the personal contract hires are almost always return only. Our number plates here will tell you what year the car is unless it’s a personalised (vanity) plate. I haven’t had a chance to sleuth the cars yet though.

 

[factorfiction77]

Going back over the last seven or eight years, there have been a fair few unsolved sex attacks in Kent committed by men whose age/build/e-fit seem quite a lot like WC.

Sevenoaks, September 2020: Woman lured to pervert's van by tale of sick child

"The suspect is described as white, in his mid-40s, 5ft 8in, of stocky build with receding shaved hair and stubble."

Ashford 'serial sex attack suspect', 2013:

Police hunt Ashford 'serial sex attack suspect'

The attacked is described as being white, bald, about 6ft 2in [obviously a disparity with WC's height] with a large frame and aged in his late 30s to late 40s.

Folkestone 2013, 'Man hunted over "knifepoint sex attack"'

"...in his mid-30s, 5ft 6ins, with short ginger or strawberry blonde hair and was unshaven. He is reported to have muscular arms"

Man hunted over 'knifepoint sex attack'

This is just too scary for words, they all have a likeness to him!
Funny how he’s changed his appearance too. Could just be lockdown as my OH grew a beard or could be a deliberate change of image to evade detection?!?

 

[Lod76]

First time poster here. I’m a clinical psychologist specialised in personality disorders and have a background in LE.

I think Sherlockhames has it broadly correct, according to what I’d expect to come out later.

A few points re other general discussions.

- “hands on” sex offenders tend to have a personality disorder, even if it is somewhat subtle
- psychopaths & those with other cluster B disorders are reasonably common in society
- they tend to have a lower than average IQ, possibly around the 90 mark
- premeditation and their -perception- of risk often shows hallmarks of low cunning rather than the glamourised, filmic, highly sophisticated psychopathic thinking style many imagine
- unsolved cases are predominantly due to loss of evidence over time rather than the skill of the perpetrators in covering the crime
- hire cars are not unusual in cases like this, the low cunning thinking style perceiving them less likely to be traced
- ANPR cams all over the UK lead LE to WC and he was subsequently subject to surveillance by plain clothes teams for days
- cordon at Poynders Court probably to some degree timed to give media smokescreen whilst arrest planned at WC’s home
- PaDP officers are almost always -not- trained in forensics, investigative policing techniques or related specialist functions
- PaDP are trained in tactics related to security and weapon handling, usually involving 5 week training sessions at a specialised residential facility in Kent
- This training is repeated every X months / years as are psychological screenings for ones suitability to be a firearms officer
- these screenings are not repeated often enough IMO as much can change between times and they are widely self report questionnaires which are known to be unrealiable
- one may expect that a sex offender would escalate from “hands off” ie flashing to “hands on” over time if he is subject to worsening mental health, fractures in personal relationships, death or illness in the family, a narcissistic injury such as humiliation at work or with his wife etc
- yes, it is possible that a first killing occurs at 48
- yes, it is statistically likely that Sarah got into his car voluntarily
- yes, it may have been an accidental killing as a result of a failed attempt at consensual sexual activity
- or a panic killing to reduce the chances of prosecution

EDIT to add: its highly unlikely that his Met issue taser or other weapon could be used in this attack as they are strictly booked in and out before & after shifts. However police CAN carry: baton, warrant ID, uniform, nylon cuffs, and other small items away from work easily / with permission.

There’s so much more to say but I have to go to work!

Thank you for your insight. I also would have thought the police had their man fairly early on from cctv, but it really didn't feel like that to me as it was unfolding. When they searched the flats there was a definite change of mood, up to that point though they seemed to be sporadically moving around from one search area to the next whilst continuing to search the common and make public appeals. I think something came to light that very day or the day before and they honed in on the suspect.

I was surprised there wasn't more focus around the area her phone was last active from the beginning. Seems to me she was quickly overpowered and restrained given her phone was likely switched off by WC. Still seems a long drive, though I suppose she could have been compliant out of sheer terror. Doesn't bear thinking about.

 

[okayokay]

Could someone point me towards the information about the false number plates? I think I’ve missed it. Many thanks.

 

[Audiohoney]

Please forgive my ignorance. Since I began reading this thread, my curiosity of some unfamiliar terms is peaked. Will you or anyone help me to understand “hire car” and “warrant card?”

Hire Car: a rental car. A car that is not owned outright by the person driving it. Usually a hire car would be a vehicle you might rent short term whilst on holiday or if your own car required repair, but as others have pointed out it might also refer to a lease vehicle - so a rental on a more long term basis.

Warrant Card: Is a card providing proof of identification and authority carried by police officers and some other law enforcement officers including immigration officers. The term is normally used only within the UK.

 

[peterf]

But surely he would have needed to go back to the station/armoury to de-kit?

Then get to wherever he parked, and then drive to the area of Poynders Court. I'm not sure how long all that would take.

Assuming the armoury is, as previous posters have said, either at Charing Cross or Palace of Westminster, then logical route would be through Southwark and Lewisham to M20.

So IMO that bit of A205 was pre-recce'd as suitable for a snatch, and he might have hung round there before (might fit with arrest for flashing?)

My speculation is that he parked up behind the flats somewhere, and waited outside the car, looking for suitable opportunity, lone female, gap in traffic, and used some sort of pretext to get her to step off the pavement. Then once there he could overpower, get her to car, and drive away up Rodenhurst Road (possibly even Elms Crescent, but there's a lot more ground to cover on foot for that, so more chance of being seen/interrupted) and leave the area on a completely different road to the A205

My theory is that Sarah was mugged for her phone (accounts for it becoming invisible, as mugger would do that to prevent remote disabling) and WC was 'good samaritan' off duty copper (with warrant card) who got her to come and sit on the wall or something just off pavement (because she's shaken up) whilst he (pretends to) call for help. It all unfolds from there. JMO

dont think i can believe that what are the chances that she would have got mugged and then this guy was randomly on the scene? Also, if she was mugged someone would have likely seen this.

 

[rls11]

Typically 3-4 years and the personal contract hires are almost always return only. Our number plates here will tell you what year the car is unless it’s a personalised (vanity) plate. I haven’t had a chance to sleuth the cars yet though.

Both cars taken from the driveway are older than 3-4 years...

 

[London78]

Hi, I'm new but wanted to post as I've been following this thread from the start. I haven't actually been able to do any work for the last few days and promised myself I wouldn't start reading today!

My thoughts are that his hire car was picked up by the bus dashcam, traced due to whatever was seen, linked to WC via the hire company and then noted that he hadn't confirmed he had been in the area at the time.

I personally believe he stopped, showed her his card and claimed she was under arrest or something similar. I'm older than SE, live in South London and have never been in any trouble with the police. There are plenty of unmarked police cars I see driving around (only aware when the sirens start up) and if I was shown a police card, I would either be too anxious to object to get into the car or probably quite panicked by the whole situation and just abide by whatever they say. If a police officer is telling you you're being arrested (even if it is for a spurious reason), not many people will question it. You could then be charged with resisting arrest.

I am a lawyer but not a criminal one. I have seen people talking about the presumption of innocence and whether CD's statement yesterday would prejudice a case against WC. There is a presumption of innocence in law but the police have obviously obtained sufficient information to suspect his guilt. When / if this goes to court, there will still be a presumption of innocence and it will be for the prosecution to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that he killed SE. A jury will still be expected to be persuaded by the evidence only.

Murder only requires "intent" it doesn't need premeditation. An intent to kill in that particular moment. Manslaughter appears in cases where someone may have intended to hurt somebody else but they die as a consequence. Hope some of this is helpful