Police officer charged with kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard faces October trial

Wayne Couzens, 48, appears in court via videolink from high-security jail

A court artist sketch showing Wayne Couzens making his appearance at the Old Bailey court by video link. AP Photo

A police officer is due to go on trial in the UK in October charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard whose death sparked demands to tackle violence against women.

PC Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared in court via videolink from a high-security prison on Tuesday accused of kidnapping the 33 year old as she walked four kilometres to her home from a friend’s flat in south London on March 3.

Mr Couzens appeared before a judge at London’s Old Bailey court wearing a burgundy sweatshirt and jogging bottoms.

He spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth during the 25-minute hearing when he gripped the sleeves of his sweatshirt and rocked forward in his seat with his head bowed. A trial was scheduled for October 25 and he was remanded in custody.

The body of Ms Everard, a marketing executive, was found inside a large bag in woodland in Ashford, Kent, a week after she went missing.

The officer, who worked in a specialist unit guarding political and diplomatic buildings, was off duty at the time of her disappearance having finished a shift that morning.

The court was told that police conducted a “wide-ranging investigation”. Tom Little, the prosecutor, said the case had attracted “almost unprecedented media and public attention”.

Protests were held in London at the weekend to raise awareness of the threat from violence faced by women.

A vigil to Ms Everard on Saturday, close to where she was last seen alive, provoked controversy after police removed a number of women under laws intended to restrict social gatherings because of the Covid-19 pandemic.