GUILTY UK - Sarah Everard, 33, London, Clapham Common area, 3 Mar 2021 *Life sentence* #16

[Tullyjune]

Will the indecent exposure be presented at this hearing?

 

[Sayrah]

The fridge

Met police officer Wayne Couzens charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard

Horrific to think this was Sarah's temporary, fiery coffin. I hate this. He is a monster.

 

[Sparklen]

I suppose any proof of whether he still was or wasn't into such material was erased when he reset his phone to factory settings and the search history disappeared. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was.

which I guess is why the judge asked the question - so we could all be aware that was a factor, just no one that could be proven

 

[LucyRocket]

The prosecutor is currently advocating to the judge for a 'whole life sentence'.

Live updates as Wayne Couzens sentenced at Old Bailey for Sarah Everard's murder

 

[LucyRocket]

Horrific to think this was Sarah's temporary, fiery coffin. I hate this. He is a monster.

In the middle of a remote waste land

 

[Lubilu]

The fridge

Met police officer Wayne Couzens charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard

Jesus. 'Good' spot, Lucy. It may be an unrelated fridge (I'm sure there's lots of dumped white goods there) but this is harrowing knowing what we do now.

I also wonder when the first mugshots of WC were released, now we know he tried to fob the police off with 'the dog scratched my head'. As I remember, we all thought/assumed that his injuries were self inflicted - of course, we know he DID inflict harm on himself in custody, but I wonder if any of the images of him with injuries could have been evidence of Sarah's final fight. I haven't had the heart to look back through and line things up in terms of a timeline, though, so take that with a pinch of salt.

 

[Moll]

Sarah's father's full statement, from the Daily Telegraph:
'The closest we can get to her now is to visit her grave every day'
Impact statement for Sarah Everard by her Father, Jeremy Everard

The impact of what you have done will never end. The horrendous murder of my daughter, Sarah, is in my mind all the time and will be for the rest of my life.

A father wants to look after his children and fix everything and you have deliberately and with pre-meditation stopped my ability to do that.

Sarah was handcuffed and unable to defend herself. This preys on my mind all the time. I can never forgive you for what you have done, for taking Sarah away from us.

You burnt our daughter’s body - you further tortured us - so that we could not see her again. We did not know whether you had burnt her alive or dead. You stopped us seeing Sarah for one last time and stopped me from giving my daughter one last kiss goodbye.

Her body fell apart when she was moved. Her brain and neck bones were removed for months by the pathologist and her body was difficult to preserve so we had to use the services of a specialist embalmer to enable a dignified burial. All my family want is Sarah back with us. No punishment that you receive will ever compare to the pain and torture that you have inflicted on us.

You murdered our daughter and forever broke the hearts of her mother, father, brother, sister, family and her friends.

Sarah had so much to look forward to and because of YOU this is now gone forever. She was saving to buy a house and looking forward to marriage and children. We were looking forward to having grandchildren. We loved being a part of Sarah’s world and expected her to have a full and happy life.

The closest we can get to her now is to visit her grave every day.

 

[tedtink]

Jesus. 'Good' spot, Lucy. It may be an unrelated fridge (I'm sure there's lots of dumped white goods there) but this is harrowing knowing what we do now.

I also wonder when the first mugshots of WC were released, now we know he tried to fob the police off with 'the dog scratched my head'. As I remember, we all thought/assumed that his injuries were self inflicted - of course, we know he DID inflict harm on himself in custody, but I wonder if any of the images of him with injuries could have been evidence of Sarah's final fight. I haven't had the heart to look back through and line things up in terms of a timeline, though, so take that with a pinch of salt.

Her body was found in the 'pugilistic' stance, so I guess the handcuffs were taken off at some point.

 

[Moll]

And her sister's full statement:
'You treated Sarah as if she was nothing'
Impact statement for Sarah Everard by her sister, Katie Everard

You treated Sarah as if she was nothing. Placed more emphasis on satisfying your sick disgusting perversions than on a life. Her life. You disposed of my sister's body like it was rubbish. Fly-tipped her like she meant nothing. She meant everything. We couldn't even see her, she was so badly burnt. Her brain was removed from her skull to check for trauma and cause of death - I still don't know if they put her brain back in her head or whether it is lying next to her body in her coffin.

Shards of her kneecap were returned to us to be placed with her body - shards that you knocked when moving her burnt body from the fridge you had used to hide her and conceal the fire. We are still missing her hyoid bone from her throat, which is being checked to see the force you used to strangle her, to determine how long she may have survived. We know it was broken. Her burnt body still had her necklace and one earring in her ear - the other had fallen from her ear because it had burnt off.

You hear from the police that it takes around 2 minutes to strangle someone. And around 8- 10 seconds for them to lose consciousness. At first there is a sense of relief at hearing that your sister might only have been aware of what was happening for 8-10 seconds. But have you put your hands around your neck and tried pushing hard? 8-10 seconds now seems a long time.

You used your warrant card to trick my sister into your car. She sat in a car handcuffed for hours. What could she have thought she had done wrong? What lies did you tell her? When did she realise that she wasn't going to survive the night?

I'm constantly replaying in my head - did you rape her, then kill her? Did you kill her while raping her? You get small nuggets of information and the thought process starts again. Your semen and blood were found in your car. So this suggests you raped her in the car. You find out you may have used a belt to strangle her. New horrendous images forming.

You stopped to get a Lucozade and water at a petrol station. Was she still alive at this point? Bound in your car? I am horrified by your ability to flit between what you did and normal everyday actions. Your casual demeanour on cctv was very upsetting and shocking to see.

We had to go to the flat and pack up Sarah's whole life - washing left hanging up, half sewn outfits, deliveries waiting to be returned, packages waiting at the door ready to be opened. All signs of a life waiting to be lived - chores to be done, ready for her to return and continue when she got home. But she never got home because a predator - you - was on the loose. Prowling the streets for hours looking for his prey.

You can't comprehend what you are being told when it happened because it is so horrific. Some sort of sick waking nightmare. You can't imagine anyone could do such a thing. You are waiting to hear anything from the police. Every bit you get is different. You hear her body has been found. Then you find out she has been burnt. So badly burnt you can't see her. Can't see her again to say goodbye. The first thought you have in your head after despair and shock is - was she dead before you burnt her? Imagine that even having to be a thought. You find out no soot was found in her lungs which suggests she was burnt after you murdered her. Imagine being relieved to hear your sister was dead before she was burnt.

I replay it continuously round in my head. What you may have said to her, what she may have said back, when she realised she was in grave danger and was not going to survive.

Hoping my sister was unconscious and drugged, but we know that was not the case - no drugs found in her body, no trauma to the head. Burst blood vessels in her brain from your strangulation. Which meant she was conscious when you were doing these unfathomable things to her. My only hope is that she was in a state of shock and that she wasn't aware of the disgusting things being done to her by a monster. When you forced yourself upon and raped her. When you put your hands around her neck and strangled her.

It disgusts me that you were the last person to touch her perfect body and violate her in the way you did. The last person to see her alive and speak to her. How scared she must have been. The last moments of her life not with loved ones, but frightened and fighting for her life. I hate to think of her being so scared and alone and that in her last moments she had no one with her. No kindness. I hate that I wasn't there to save her. To stop you. I find it hard to believe she is not just living her own life and sick at the thought that her last moments on this earth alive were so horrific.

How dare you take her from me? Take away her hopes and dreams. Her life. Children that will never be born. Generations that will never exist. Her future no longer exists. The future I was supposed to live with my sister no longer exists. You have ruined so many lives.

Sarah is the very best person with so many people who love and cherish her. I want to speak to her and hug her and hear her laugh and go out for dinners and drinks and dancing.

All those conversations we can never have. There were so many things I wanted to share with her - trips abroad, being each other's bridesmaid, meeting her babies and being an

Aunty, growing old together and seeing who got the most wrinkles. We weren't even halfway through our journey and you took it all away!

I feel like I live in a make-believe world. As if nothing is real. I have to pretend because the thought of not having Sarah forever is too hard to bear. A lifetime now seems a very long time.

I should never have to write a eulogy for or bury my little sister. There is no punishment that you could receive that will ever compare to the pain you have caused us. We can never get Sarah back. The last moments of Sarah's life play on my mind constantly. I am so disgusted and appalled. It terrifies me that you have such disregard for a person's life. You have taken from me the most precious person. And I can never get her back.

 

[Blondiexoxo]

This is worse than we could have ever imagined. Poor Sarah being driven 80 miles handcuffed in that car. 80 miles. I am sure she realised early on that WC had sinister intentions, she would have been terrified. What a disgusting abuse of his position of trust.

I’ve read a lot of things during my time here at WS but the image I now have in my head of Sarah in that car for hours, scared beyond belief knowing she was powerless to escape will stick with me for a long time. Sarah could be any of us, any woman walking home from her friends house. WC had all the power in this situation and he relished in it. The ultimate deceit from a person who is supposed to protect society from harm. He used his position of power to fulfil his sick desires and that IMO is unforgivable.

He deserves no mercy for admitting guilt, no mercy atall. I’m sure Sarah begged him to let her go but instead he raped her, strangled her, burnt her, stuck her in a builders bag and left her submerged

I just can’t get out my mind how terrified Sarah must have been throughout her ordeal, it wasn’t over in a matter of minutes I believe this lasted hours. And WC enjoyed every minute of it. He’s probably getting off listening to his crimes being recounted in court. He’s a very warped individual and deserves a whole life order, nothing less.

 

[LucyRocket]

Prosecutor Tom Little QC suggested the circumstances of Sarah Everard's murder were so exceptional it could warrant a whole life sentence for her killer Wayne Couzens.

In the "unprecedented" case, Couzens abused his position as a police officer and used his warrant card to kidnap Ms Everard "by fraud" and then detain her "by force", he says.

He adds there was "significant" planning and Ms Everard was alive for hours before she was raped and murdered.

Wayne Couzens sentencing live: Sarah Everard's killer had dating profiles and carried handcuffs off-duty, court hears

 

[tedtink]

Imagine being relieved to hear your sister was dead before she was burnt.

This..........

 

[Lubilu]

Her body was found in the 'pugilistic' stance, so I guess the handcuffs were taken off at some point.

I wondered about this. Sarah's mother's statement said she was handcuffed, which gave me the awful feeling she was cuffed throughout, but it seems fairly circumstancially clear to me from his 'dog scratched my head' comments that Sarah did have use of her arms at some stage, and God, I do hope she did inflict injury on WC. This is so horrible to think about, let alone type OUT. Sorry if I used 'circumstancially' wrong - I think I used it correctly, but I just mean that from the evidence we have, that's what I think happened.

Not to doubt you at all, but I've been trying to stay on top of this and haven't seen anything about the pugilistic/'boxer stance' myself - where was that stated?

So harrowing. Her family's statements are eloquent, touching, and beautifully and nuancedly shaming of WC.

Edits for formatting

 

[Silverlink]

Prosecutor Tom Little QC suggested the circumstances of Sarah Everard's murder were so exceptional it could warrant a whole life sentence for her killer Wayne Couzens.

In the "unprecedented" case, Couzens abused his position as a police officer and used his warrant card to kidnap Ms Everard "by fraud" and then detain her "by force", he says.

He adds there was "significant" planning and Ms Everard was alive for hours before she was raped and murdered.

Wayne Couzens sentencing live: Sarah Everard's killer had dating profiles and carried handcuffs off-duty, court hears

This case meets most of the aggravating factors set out by the CPS.

Sentencing - Mandatory life sentences in Murder cases | The Crown Prosecution Service

Aggravating and Mitigating Factors
Having set a starting point the court must take into account any aggravating or mitigating factors, to the extent that it has not allowed for them in its choice of starting point (paragraph 8, Schedule 21).

Under paragraph 9, detailed consideration of aggravating or mitigating factors may result in a minimum term of any length (whatever the starting point) or in the making of a whole life order.

Aggravating factors that may be relevant include:

a) a significant degree of planning or premeditation;
b) the victim was vulnerable because of age or disability;
c) mental or physical suffering inflicted on the victim before death;
d) the abuse of a position of trust;
e) the use of duress or threats against another person to facilitate the commission of the offence;
f) the victim was providing a public service or performing a public duty; and
g) concealment, destruction or dismemberment of the body.

Mitigating factors include:

a) an intention to cause serious bodily harm rather than kill;
b) lack of premeditation;
c) the offender suffers from a mental disorder or disability (not falling within section 2(1) of the Homicide Act 1957) which lowered their degree of culpability;
d) the offender was provoked in a way not amounting to a defence of provocation;
e) the offender acted to any extent in self-defence;
f) a belief by the offender that the murder was an act of mercy;
g) the age of the offender.

The court should also consider any previous convictions, whether the offence was committed on bail and if the offender pleaded guilty.

The court should take into account any period the offender has spent on remand in connection with the offence or a related offence. The offender will get no credit for time served on remand unless it is taken into account when setting the minimum term. The court should normally subtract the time for which the offender was remanded from the punitive period it would otherwise impose in order to reach the minimum term.

 

[LucyRocket]

Mr Little says that the murder of Sarah Everard justifies a sentence in which Wayne Couzens would never be released from prison.

He argued on behalf of the CPS that it does meet the high seriousness threshold because "of the nature of the kidnap and from then on the use of his position as a constable".

The timing and the circumstances of Couzens being a police officer and his use of warrant cards to arrest Miss Everard was aggravating, Mr Little argued.

Had he not been a police officer, Miss Everard would not have got in the car, the CPS say. And having taken the police oath, the seriousness threshold is reached.

Mr Little, addressing Lord Justice Fulford, said: "Then the guilty plea and any other mitigation does or does not cause this to become a borderline case as oppose to a non-borderline case."

Arguing that it pushes beyond the borderline, he said there were a number of aggravating factors, including that he used his position of a serving police officer using his knowledge and equipment.

He also pointed out the significant planning and premeditation of the hire car, plastic sheeting and moving items to London as further aggravating factors

The judge sentencing Wayne Couzens asked the Crown Prosecution Service what the circumstances were surrounding the murder of MP Jo Cox.

Thomas Mair was jailed on a whole-life tariff for killing the MP.

Lord asked Mr Little QC for a summary on how the judge in that case was able to pass a full-life sentence.

The lawyer pointed out he was junior counsel in the trial, and said this was due to it being a "politically-motivated murder" involving a knife and a firearm.

He added: "It was a firearm that a farmer might use to shoot vermin rather than necessarily a weapon you'd expect to find in a murder case."

But Mr Little said: "The primary reason was - she was an MP, outside her surgery in Batley and was attacked outside in the street."

Sarah Everard murder: Wayne Couzens 'may have abused lockdown powers to arrest and kidnap victim'


That's it for today. Defence tomorrow, brace yourselves

 

[thatssoamy]

Thanks for the updates @LucyRocket and @Silverlink and @Moll

 

[tedtink]

I wondered about this. Her mother's statement said she was handcuffed, which gave me the awful feeling she was cuffed throughout, but it seems fairly circumstancially clear to me from his 'dog scratched my head' comments that she did have use of her arms at some stage. This is so horrible to think about, let alone type out. And sorry if I used 'circumstancially' wrong - I think I used it correctly, I just mean that from the evidence we have that's what I think happened. Not to doubt you at all, but I've been trying to stay on top of this and haven't seen anything about the pugilistic/'boxer stance' myself - where was that stated? So harrowing. Her family's statements are eloquent, touching, and beautifully and nuancedly shaming of WC.

It was here.......
https://twitter.com/totalcrime/status/1443205131517014017?s=21
But still unknown as to whether handcuffs were removed before rape or after, but presumably before burning.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

So erectile dysfunction IMO. Which may have added to his feelings of inadequacy.
I guess the hairband was used for what I mentioned up-thread.

JMO.

Think you're right Ted. Gross eh.

 

[poirotlove88]

After hearing all this today, what can the defence possibly say

 

[Lubilu]

It was here.......
https://twitter.com/totalcrime/status/1443205131517014017?s=21
But still unknown as to whether handcuffs were removed before rape or after, but presumably before burning.

Ugh. I managed to miss that entire update - thank you for sharing. Ugh. Just... ugh.

ETA: Good dogs.