{"id":140142,"date":"2021-09-29T13:18:50","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T13:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=140142"},"modified":"2021-09-29T13:18:50","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T13:18:50","slug":"covid-19-lockdown-rules-used-as-pretext-to-detain-murder-victim-sarah-everard-court-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/covid-19-lockdown-rules-used-as-pretext-to-detain-murder-victim-sarah-everard-court-told\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 lockdown rules used as pretext to detain murder victim Sarah Everard, court told"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>London:<\/strong> A serving London police officer handcuffed Sarah Everard on the pretext that she broke COVID-19 lockdown rules before he kidnapped and killed her, a court was told on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at London\u2019s Central Criminal Court charged with the kidnap, rape and murder of Everard, 33, who disappeared while walking home from visiting a friend in south London on March 3.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_1.09%2C$multiply_0.3541%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_392\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/5108ec9cba07f62e01deeddbb4fb9dba414888ce\" height=\"212\" width=\"375\"><\/p>\n<p><span>Sarah Everard.<\/span><cite class=\"ojLwA\"><span>Credit:<\/span>Metropolitan Police<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>Couzens has pleaded guilty to the charges. He sat in court with his head bowed as members of Everard\u2019s family listened to prosecutor Tom Little open his case.<\/p>\n<p>Little said Couzens wore his police belt with handcuffs and used his police warrant card when he detained Everard \u201cby fraud\u201d. He also had booked a car rental, the prosecutor argued.<\/p>\n<p>There was \u201cno credible alternative explanation for his need to hire a car other than to use that car to kidnap and rape a lone woman\u201d, Little said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis movements were consistent with the defendant looking for, or hunting, for a lone young female to kidnap and rape, which is precisely what he did,\u201d the prosecutor argued.<\/p>\n<p>As a Metropolitan Police office, Couzens worked on COVID-19 patrols and enforcing coronavirus regulations, Little said. Everard being out after going to a friend\u2019s house for dinner while Britain remained under lockdown made her more vulnerable to the officer\u2019s claim that she had breached pandemic rules, the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n<p>A passenger in a passing car witnessed the kidnapping but mistook it for an arrest by an undercover officer, he added.<\/p>\n<p>Everard\u2019s body was found in woodland in Ashford, Kent, about 97 kilometres south-east of London, a week after she went missing.<\/p>\n<p>Her disappearance led to one of the most widely publicised missing person investigations the UK had ever seen, Little said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.413%2C$multiply_0.3541%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_448\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/c2a66bb0ec73dc67a5aa93458bda0adcdd417429\" height=\"212\" width=\"375\"><\/p>\n<p><span>Wayne Couzens.<\/span><cite class=\"ojLwA\"><span>Credit:<\/span>Metropolitan Police<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>The case also sparked national outrage and triggered large-scale protests denouncing violence against women.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the court hearing, the Metropolitan Police department said it was \u201csickened, angered and devastated by this man\u2019s crimes, which betray everything we stand for\u201d. The force said it would not comment further until the hearing was over.<\/p>\n<p>A judge is expected to sentence Couzens on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AP<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Get a note direct from our foreign <\/i><\/b><b><i>correspondents <\/i><\/b><b><i>on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. <\/i><\/b><b><i>Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here<\/i><\/b><b><i>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<h2>Most Viewed in World<\/h2>\n<h3>From our partners<\/h3>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/world\/europe\/covid-19-lockdown-rules-used-as-pretext-to-detain-murder-victim-sarah-everard-court-told-20210929-p58vws.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>London: A serving London police officer handcuffed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":140141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23056],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - 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