Britain's most hated policeman Wayne Couzens was today jailed for the rest of his life with no chance of parole because he used his 'office and authority' to kidnap, rape and murder his victim Sarah Everard.
Lord Justice Fulford said Couzens, who looked at his feet and hands throughout today's Old Bailey hearing, was a 'warped' killer who had spent a month planning to abduct and rape a woman using his position as a Met Police officer to carry out one of the most shocking crimes in recent history.
The judge made the killer stand and face the court as he handed down a whole life term reserved for around 70 of Britain's most dangerous criminals, saying that Couzens' deception and his misuse of his role as a police officer had 'eroded the confidence' in the police for millions.
He said: 'Sarah Everard was a wholly blameless victim of a grotesque series of offences', adding 'She was simply walking home'.
The judge added the circumstances of the case are 'devastating, tragic and wholly brutal' and the evidence gathered against Couzens by his former colleagues at the Met and Kent Police was 'unanswerable' and there was 'no credible innocent explanation' for it, he said.
Couzens went 'hunting a lone female to kidnap and rape' having planned in 'unspeakably' grim detail, the judge said, adding: 'Notwithstanding his guilty pleas, in my view the defendant throughout sought to minimise his true responsibility for what occurred. At no stage has he offered any kind of full explanation as to what occurred in the fateful few hours'.
The defendant's preparations included taking some of his police kit with him and lying to his family about working on the night of the murder, the Old Bailey heard.
The judge paid tribute to the dignity of Ms Everard's family, whose statements in court revealed the human impact of the 'warped, selfish and brutal offending which was both sexual and homicidal.' Lord Justice Fulford said Couzens tried to 'minimise his true responsibility' for what had occurred from the moment he spoke to police.
He said the defendant must have realised he 'may well need to kill the woman he intended to abduct and rape' but that did not become a 'definite outcome' before events began to unfold.
Earlier Couzens' QC told the Old Bailey earlier that Couzens shouldn't die behind bars because there have been 'worse crimes' than the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.
Couzens' defence lawyer Jim Sturman claimed his client, 48, is 'filled with self-loathing, abject shame and remorse' for killing Miss Everard, 33, despite his client never offering any explanation or public apology for what he has done.
Mr Sturman admitted that Couzens still cannot face Sarah's parents, who are in court today and told him yesterday to look at them when they described their collective grief, torment and rage because of what he did to their daughter, branding him a 'monster' and 'the very worst of humanity'.
He said: 'He was invited to look at the Everards. He could not I am told. He is ashamed. What he has done is terrible. He deserves a very lengthy finite term but he did all he could after he was arrested to minimise the wicked harm that he did.'
The married father-of-two will be sentenced by Lord Justice Fulford at 11.30am for the appalling murder of Sarah as the Met Police faces questions about how an officer nicknamed 'The Rapist' by former colleagues was still on duty despite warnings he had flashed two women just before he abducted and killed the marketing executive on the night of March 3.
A whole life term has only been handed to 50-plus of the most dangerous prisoners in British history since the death penalty was abolished, including Rose West, the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, Dennis Nilsen, Dr Death Harold Shipman and most recently in 2021, Reading jihadi Khairi Saadallah.
But Jim Sturman QC claimed that while Couzens had pre-planned the abduction, it was 'not inevitable' that Sarah would be murdered, adding he should be shown some leniency for pleading guilty and sparing her family the 'agony' of a three-week trial. He also said Couzens mental health problems were 'genuine' and he had 'not played the system'.
He said: 'There is very little evidence he drove from Kent to London with murder on his mind', arguing he bought the items to dispose of the body after she was strangled to death with his police-issue belt, adding: 'Nothing I say today is at all intended to minimise the horror of what Couzens did' and that Couzens 'makes no excuses'.
Mr Sturman said Couzens's guilty pleas had saved the Everards 'the terror' of what the verdicts would be. He said his family struggled to reconcile how 'the man they loved' who had given 'no indication of violence towards the person' could have 'behaved in this way'.
Mr Sturman added: 'He appeared to be living a life as a law-abiding man with a loving family and his colleagues described him as calm and friendly.
'Nothing I say today is at all intended to minimise the horror of what the defendant did that night and after. He makes no excuses for his actions, he accepts he will receive, and he deserves, a severe punishment. No right-minded person... can feel anything other than revulsion for what he did.
'He does not seek to make excuses for anything that he did and he is filled with self-loathing and abject shame. And he should be.'
Sarah's father Jeremy, mother Susan, sister Katie and brother James arrive at the Old Bailey at a previous hearing. They confronted Couzens yesterday but he refused to look at them
Couzens was swept into the Old Bailey this morning to be sentenced for one of the most revolting and repulsive crimes in recent history
This is the moment, caught on CCTV, that Couzens staged the arrest using covid rules before cuffing her and putting her in a rented car. Miss Everard is beneath the yellow arrow while Couzens' arrow is purple
Couzens sitting in the front seat of the hire car, after he falsely 'arrested' Miss Everard (who is seated in the back) outside Poynders Court on Poynders Road, Clapham. It was only after they left London that she may have realised her fate
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Whole life orders: The rare 'life means life' sentences that sees killers die behind bars
Whole life orders are the most severe punishment available in the UK criminal justice system for those who commit the most serious crimes.
If handed such a sentence, Wayne Couzens will join a string of some of the country's most dangerous offenders who are expected to die behind bars.
There are 60 criminals serving whole life orders, according to Government figures to the end of June.
They will never be considered for release, unless there are exceptional compassionate grounds to warrant it.
Milly Dowler's killer Levi Bellfield is thought to be the only criminal in UK legal history to be serving two whole life orders – for her murder, the killings of Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange as well as the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.
Other notorious criminals serving whole life orders include: Gloucester serial killer Rose West (pictured), Michael Adebolajo, one of Fusilier Lee Rigby's killers; Mark Bridger, who murdered five-year-old April Jones in Wales; neo-Nazi Thomas Mair who killed MP Jo Cox; Grindr serial killer Stephen Port; and most recently the Reading terror attacker Khairi Saadallah, who murdered three men in a park.
Before they died, Moors murderer Ian Brady and his girlfriend Myra Hindley, Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, and doctor Harold Shipman – thought to be one of Britain's most prolific serial killers – were also among those serving whole life orders.
In the past, home secretaries could issue whole life tariffs and these are now determined by judges.
Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, the Government is trying to expand the use of whole life orders for premeditated murder of a child.
The reforms would also allow judges to hand out the maximum sentence to 18 to 20-year-olds in exceptional cases, such as for acts of terrorism leading to mass loss of life.
We will also give judges the discretion, in exceptional circumstances, to impose a whole life order on offenders aged 18 or over but under 21.
Couzens cut a pathetic figure as he refused to raise his head in the dock as Sarah Everard's family told him of their torment, rage and being haunted by her final hours. Couzens, a married father of two, even walked his family in woodland yards from where he had dumped Sarah's body.
Her mother Susan faced him at the Old Bailey yesterday and in a brave and moving victim impact statement called him 'the very worst of humanity' and revealed she wakes every morning and always thinks: 'Don't get in the car, Sarah. Don't believe him. Run!'. She added: 'I am repulsed by the thought of Wayne Couzens and what he did to Sarah'.
Her father, Jeremy Everard, demanded Couzens look at him while he was giving his testimony but his daughter's murderer refused, having kept his head bowed throughout yesterday's six-hour hearing.
Couzens stopped Miss Everard on the street and used Covid laws as a ploy to 'arrest' the marketing executive and force her into his rental car before raping and strangling her to death in a sickening five-hour ordeal.
Footage taken from a passing dashcam shows the 33-year-old stood on a pavement on Poynders Road in Clapham as Couzens, who was wearing handcuffs on his police belt, speaks to her.
She was then driven for two hours to Dover where he forcibly moved her from the hire car into his own black Seat before continuing along remote back roads to Hoad's Wood where he raped her, strangled her with his belt and stashed her body in a fridge.
Earlier that night, he spent two hours driving through central and south London - prowling Kensington, Lavender Hill and Earls Court for a lone young woman to abduct - before stalking Miss Everard and stopping next to her.
The twisted Met Protection Officer can be seen producing his warrant card as he claimed Miss Everard had breached Covid restrictions.
Couzens then cuffed her hands behind her back, leaving her incapable of undoing the seatbelt he strapped around her after ordering her into the back of his rental car.
As the depraved killer watched in the Old Bailey with his head bowed, Miss Everard's family heard in horrific detail how Miss Everard spent her final hours before the serving Metropolitan Police officer raped and murdered her, and then burned her body in a pre-meditated attack that was weeks in the planning.
Her mother Susan told the Old Bailey: 'Sarah died in horrendous circumstances. I am tormented at the thought of what she endured.
'I play it out in my mind. I go through the terrible sequence of events. I wonder when she realized she was in mortal danger; I wonder what her murderer said to her. When he strangled her, for how long was she conscious, knowing she would die? It is torture to think of it. Sarah was handcuffed.'
Her father Jeremy added: 'Sarah was handcuffed and unable to defend herself. This preys on my mind all the time.
It coincided with a string of increasingly sick behaviour which saw the married father-of-two flashing two women in McDonald's across two separate incidents.
Witnesses later described how Miss Everard - who had spent the evening at a friend's house sharing a bottle of wine - appeared 'compliant' with her 'head down' as the 'confident-looking' officer made what seemed to be a late-night arrest at the height of lockdown in March.
CCTV footage captured by a passing bus showed Miss Everard in the back seat of Couzens' hire car after she was falsely 'arrested'.
Couzens, who lied to his family about working a night shift that evening, then drove Miss Everard 80 miles to a remote stretch of road in his home county of Kent. Prosecutor Tom Little QC said: 'She must have realised her fate.'
CCTV footage of Miss Everard captured earlier on the night she was kidnapped in March, sparking a nationwide hunt
Quizzed by police, Couzens (pictured in handcuffs) lied that he had been 'leant on' by an Eastern European gang who threatened to harm his family if he did not agree to pick up a woman
The deranged Met Protection Officer, who was wearing his police belt containing handcuffs, can be seen producing his warrant card as he claimed Miss Everard had breached Covid restrictions
Miss Everard's devastated family listened from the public gallery as the Old Bailey heard harrowing details of how Couzens took her to a rural area and raped her, before later being seen buying Lucozade and other drinks from BP station with her body in boot, after she was believed to have been murdered.
Couzens, 48, prepared for the abduction by buying a rental car and a sheet of film from Amazon
Distressing details of the timeline suggest Miss Everard could have been alive for more than four hours in the back of Couzens' car. She was snatched off the street by 9.30pm and when the killer pulled into the garage at 2.30am, Sarah is thought to have been in his boot, already dead.
The court heard he confessed to a psychiatrist that he had strangled Miss Everard with his belt, and the prosecution said her injuries were consistent with ones that would have been caused by his police belt.
Couzens - who had prepared for the abduction by buying a rental car and a sheet of film from Amazon - hid her body inside a fridge in a patch of rubbish-strewn woodland before torching it.
Footage released by police showed the moment Couzens rented the car he would go on to use to prowl the streets of London for almost two hours before picking up Miss Everard.
The CCTV clip showed Couzens calmly laughing with a female attendant. He joked 'you've put me on the spot' while trying to remember his phone number as she took his details.
He went on to visit a Tesco store in west London to buy a pack of 14 hairbands just an hour before Miss Everard was abducted on March 3, before making further trips to a B&Q two days after Miss Everard is believed to have been killed. He also visited a Homebase in Folkestone on the morning of Monday, March 8.
CCTV footage showed the moment he went on to visit a BP garage in Dover on Friday, March 5 to buy and fill a petrol canister - believed to have been used to burn Miss Everard's body.
Just days after the murder, the father-of-two took his wife and children on a family trip and allowed the youngsters to play near a pond where he had dumped Miss Everard's remains, the prosecution said.
CCTV footage (pictured) captured by a passing bus showed Miss Everard in the back seat of Couzens' hire car after she was falsely 'arrested'
Couzens sat in the drivers' seat of the hire car after buckling up Miss Everard's seatbelt in the back
Quizzed by police, he lied that he had been 'leant on' by an Eastern European gang who threatened to harm his family if he did not agree to pick up a woman and hand her over to the occupants of a van near Maidstone.
Taken to Wandsworth Police Station, he repeatedly tried to self-harm by banging his head on a sink and running into a wall, and was put under constant watch before appearing in court.
Yesterday, Miss Everard's family and friends gave victim impact statements to the Old Bailey.
The Old Bailey heard horrific details of the serving police officer's deceit and Sarah's final hours before she was raped, murdered and burned in a pre-meditated attack that was weeks in the planning:
- Prosecution say five words summarise what PC Wayne Couzens did to Sarah Everard: 'Deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire';
- Friends in Deal said Couzens was regularly seen wearing his police belt with handcuffs and pepper spray, when not on duty, and he lied that he was an undercover police officer;
- In December 2020 he joined Match.com and said he had no wife and children. He also signed up to an escort agency;
- In January 2021, Couzens worked on COVID patrols and 'used this knowledge' to kidnap his victim, who he stopped after doing laps of west and south-west London on the night of March 3, 2021;
- On February 10 he bought a 'police standard issue handcuff key with double locking pin' from Amazon, which he used on his police-issue cuffs to detain Sarah Everard and force her into his hire car;
- On February 28, Couzens booked a hire car online from Enterprise and ordered a 100m roll of carpet protector film from Amazon, used to line the boot where he eventually kept Sarah's body;
- He had told his wife that he was working a night shift when he grabbed Sarah - in fact he was off duty and cruising the streets looking for a victim;
- A couple driving past witnessed the kidnapping. Couzens using his warrant card and handcuffs to make a false arrest. They believed she had 'done something wrong' so didn't intervene;
- A former boyfriend said Sarah was 'extremely intelligent, savvy and streetwise' and would never get into a stranger's vehicle 'unless by force or by manipulation', which is exactly what Couzens did;
- Sarah was driven 80 miles to the Kent coast, where she was raped and murdered after a five-hour ordeal;
- In 2019 Wayne Couzens bought plot of woodland in Hoads Wood near Ashford. He bragged it was 'perfect for day trips' - but it's where he burned Sarah's body and dumped it in bags in shallow water;
- Couzens took his family on a trip to the woods where he burned Miss Everard's body - allowing his children to play near where it was dumped;
- Phoned vet to arrange for an appointment to see his dog and handed in his Met Police firearms licence;
- Lied about being forced to 'pick up a girl' by an Eastern European gang who threatened his family;
- Admits to killing her with his belt - with prosecution saying injuries were consistent with his police belt;
- Couzens repeatedly self-harmed in his cell, as police divers found Miss Everard's phone in the River Stour;
- Miss Everard's father demanded killer 'look me in the face', mother said she was 'haunted' by murder and sister called Couzens 'a monster';
- Court also heard how Couzens was 'attracted to brutal sexual pornography'
Heartbreaking timeline of the murder that shocked Britain: How killer policeman abused Covid powers to snare Sarah Everard... before trying to cover up his monstrous crime
Wayne Couzens had served as a special constable for Kent Police, before moving to the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and eventually joining Scotland Yard as a firearms officer in September 2018 - during which time he had been trusted to protect MPs and diplomats, and guarding key buildings including the US Embassy.
Colleagues regarded the married father of two as a 'family man', but in truth he was a porn-obsessed predator who is thought to have blown cash on escorts, and had begged for a pay rise after amassing debts of almost £30,000.
He spent lockdown trawling dating sites, falsely claiming to be a single man with no children, while at least one colleague reported knowing he was 'attracted to violent sexual pornography' as far back as 2002.
Couzens had joined colleagues on uniformed patrols enforcing lockdown in January. This appears to have inspired his sickening plot. 
While on duty on February 28, he booked a £65.30 hire car from Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Dover, which he collected on March 3 (pictured), having decided his own was too old and filthy to be passed off as a police vehicle
At 5.52pm Sarah Everard is seen as she leaves her home in Craster Road, Brixton, for an evening out
While on her journey for her night out, Sarah stops off at a Sainsbury's store on Brixton Hill at 6pm and is seen talking on the phone as she enters the shop
Security cameras inside the Sainsbury's store saw Sarah use a self-checkout aisle to purchase a bottle of wine in preparation for her evening
Just three minutes after having entered the Sainsbury's store on Brixton Hill, Sarah is seen leaving again to visit a friend in Clapham Junction
Miss Everard, described by a former partner as 'savvy and streetwise', was on her way home at 9.15pm, having had dinner with a friend in Clapham. Pictured: Sarah is seen as she leaves her friend's house and starts walking home to Brixton
She is said to have been in 'good spirits' as she chatted to her boyfriend on the phone while walking briskly along the well-lit A205, which was busy with traffic. The call ended at 9.28pm. It would be the last time anyone heard from her. Pictured: Sarah walks east down Cavendish Road towards her home after concluding her call with her boyfriend
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Just four minutes after Sarah was seen walking down Cavendish Road towards her home, Couzens' hire car, was spotted travelling east, and passing the same camera
Couzens (right) pulled over, on the pretence of arresting Miss Everard (left) for breaching lockdown rules. Dashcam footage from cars and buses travelling past captured him flashing his warrant card before reaching for his handcuffs
![A bus CCTV camera captures Sarah in the back seat of Couzens' car. At the precise moment Couzens abducted Miss Everard – on March 3 – his wife Elena sent a message to his mother: 'Wayne had a call for overtime shift tonight. I [was] wondering if you could pick children from school tomorrow, would you?'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/30/09/48564989-10044691-A_bus_CCTV_camera_captures_Sarah_in_the_back_seat_of_Couzens_car-a-63_1632991160168.jpg)
A bus CCTV camera captures Sarah in the back seat of Couzens' car. At the precise moment Couzens abducted Miss Everard – on March 3 – his wife Elena sent a message to his mother: 'Wayne had a call for overtime shift tonight. I [was] wondering if you could pick children from school tomorrow, would you?'
Buying a hot chocolate and Bakewell tart at a Costa Coffee – wearing the very same clothes as he had the night before. Just over an hour later, he would dispose of Miss Everard's phone in a flood relief channel in Sandwich – but a fragment was later found in his car
On March 5, Couzens bought a can of petrol (pictured) and another McDonald's meal before heading back to Hoad's Wood, where he had purchased a plot of land – described as 'perfect for day trips' – in 2019, and where he had left his murdered victim's body more than 24 hours ago
At 12.45pm on March 5, a local sees a large fire by a fridge. This was used by Couzens to burn Miss Everard's clothing and body just yards from his own plot of land. He brought his wife and children to the woodland two days later
Couzens is seen strolling into B&Q – having already bought items from Amazon, including a police-issue handcuff key and a roll of self-adhesive plastic carpet-protecting film, to prepare for his crime over several weeks
Couzens buying building sacks from B&Q for £9.94. He then returns to the woods to dump Miss Everard's remains in a pond
Hoad's Wood, where Couzens returned with wife and children on the morning of Sunday March 7, stopping for cash at Dover South Services. He had also stopped there hours after murdering Miss Everard. Astonishingly, Couzens allowed his children to play close to where he had hidden his victim as her disappearance dominated the news
A day later, on March 8, he was due to attend a training day but called in sick. He then drove to the Met's diplomatic protection team base, where he stowed the kit he used to kidnap Miss Everard
In handcuffs, the moment the killer is confronted by police at his home with a picture of his victim
This is the moment police confronted Wayne Couzens with a picture of Sarah Everard at his home.
The murderer was caught and handcuffed after his hire car was traced to his address.
Detectives arrived at his house in Deal, Kent, at 5.45pm on Tuesday, March 9, six days after he snatched his victim.
This is the moment police confronted Wayne Couzens with a picture of Sarah Everard at his home
Detectives arrived at his house in Deal, Kent, at 5.45pm on Tuesday, March 9, six days after he snatched his victim
But they didn't move in for two hours, allowing Couzens – who may have spotted the plain-clothed officers – to wipe his phone at 7.11pm.
They finally moved in at 7.45pm and arrested him when his children were getting ready for bed. At first he claimed he knew nothing about Miss Everard, then spun a sickening web of lies about being forced to kidnap her for an Eastern European gang.
Claiming he was in 'in financial s***' after trying to 'rip off a call girl', he said gangsters had warned they would harm his family unless he snatched a girl.
He said the gang threatened him when he was with another prostitute and had been following him, turning up outside his home.
The murderer was caught and handcuffed after his hire car was traced to his address
Couzens claimed he handed over Miss Everard alive at a roundabout by Charing Racecourse in Kent and suggested officers go to Folkestone and Maidstone Services to find the gang.
When asked where she was, he said: 'If I could do something to get her back right this minute, I would.' But he then added: 'I'll do it again tomorrow if it meant saving my family.'
A day later police discovered Miss Everard's body.
Even as his story unravelled, the cowardly killer clung to his lies and has still refused to tell police the truth about what he did, to the enduring agony of his victim's family.
Fake arrest 'for breaking lockdown rules' used to kidnap Miss Everard as she walked home from a friend's house
Wayne Couzens accused Sarah Everard of breaking lockdown rules to make a 'fake arrest'.
The policeman used his handcuffs and warrant card to snatch Miss Everard as she walked home from visiting a friend in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3.
The sexual predator, who had clocked off from a 12-hour shift that morning, went on to rape and strangle the 33-year-old marketing executive before setting fire to her body.
A week after she disappeared, Miss Everard's remains were found in a woodland stream in Ashford, Kent, just yards from land owned by Couzens.
Couzens' car is seen driving along Cavendish Road at 9.32pm, just minutes before he pulled over and stopped Miss Everard
Miss Everard was taken out of the hire car and forced into Couzens' own car (pictured) in a switch made at 11.30pm on North Military Road in Dover, KentCCTV footage showed Couzens raising his left arm holding a warrant card before handcuffing Miss Everard and putting her into the hire car.
A passenger in a passing car witnessed the kidnapping but mistook it for an arrest by an undercover officer, the court heard.
A woman on the pavement appeared to have her left arm behind her back and was in the process of 'giving her other arm behind her back' as a man in dark clothing handcuffed her, according to the witness.
Mr Little said: 'The immediate impression the passenger formed was that she was witnessing an undercover police officer arresting a woman, whom she assumed 'must have done something wrong'.
'They were in fact witnessing the kidnapping of Sarah Everard. She was detained by fraud. The defendant using his warrant card and handcuffs as well as his other police issue equipment to affect a false arrest.'
Below is a summary of Couzens' murder hearing in the order it was heard in court:
Victim of 'deception, rape, strangulation and fire'
Sarah Everard was the victim of 'deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire', the Old Bailey heard at the start of her murderer's sentencing.
Wayne Couzens was a serving PC with the Metropolitan Police when he snatched Miss Everard as she walked home in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3.
The sexual predator, who had clocked off from a 12-hour shift that morning, went on to rape and strangle the 33-year-old marketing executive.
A week after she disappeared, Miss Everard's body was found in a woodland stream in Ashford, Kent, just metres from land owned by Couzens.
Prosecutor Tom Little QC said: 'The defendant's plot of land is very close to, and in the same woods, that he was to burn Sarah Everard's body after he had murdered her.
'He then moved her body in green bags that he had purchased specifically for that task to a pond deeper into the woods but which was only about 130 metres from his plot.'
Opening the facts, Mr Little said the disappearance of Miss Everard was one of the most widely publicised missing person investigations the country has ever seen.
After her body was discovered in woodland, it became summarised by the hashtag 'she was just walking home', he said.
But that did not completely describe what happened to Miss Everard, the court heard.
Mr Little said: 'Whilst it is impossible to summarise what the defendant did to Sarah Everard in just five words, if it had to be done then it would be more appropriate to do so as deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire.'
Miss Everard: 'Extremely intelligent, savvy and streetwise'
Miss Everard was described by a former long-term boyfriend as 'extremely intelligent, savvy and streetwise' and 'not a gullible person', the Old Bailey heard.
He said he could not envisage her getting into a car with someone she did not know 'unless by force or manipulation', according to Mr Little.
He said Couzens worked on Covid patrols in late January this year, enforcing coronavirus regulations, so would have known what language to use to those who may have breached them.
Couzens was said to be wearing his police belt with handcuffs and a rectangular black pouch, similar to a pepper spray holder, when he kidnapped Miss Everard.
Mr Little said he snatched Miss Everard in a 'false arrest', by 'handcuffing her and showing his warrant card'.
The prosecutor said he must have taken her mobile phone from her and removed the sim card, which he tried to destroy.
Ahead of the start of the two-day hearing, Scotland Yard released a statement which read: 'We are sickened, angered and devastated by this man's crimes which betray everything we stand for.
'Our thoughts are with Sarah's family and her many friends. It is not possible for us to imagine what they are going through.
'We recognise his actions raise many questions and concerns but we will not be commenting further until the hearing is complete.' 
Miss Everard queued at Sainsbury's with a bottle of red wine as she headed to see a friend for dinner after work
Just hours before she was abducted and murdered Miss Everard was enjoying a normal Wednesday evening
Miss Everard walked from her home to see a friend via a Sainsbury's in Brixton Hill, south London
Sarah Everard's boyfriend Josh Lowth arrives for the sentencing of her killer, policeman Wayne Couzens at the Old Bailey this morning
Couzens (left, in his uniform with his police belt circled); and right, in a court sketch) kidnapped, raped and murdered Miss Everard in depraved crime after he had finished his shift
Susan Everard (right), Miss Everard's mother, reading a victim impact statement as Couzens sits in the dock
Ms Everard's father Jeremy ordered Couzens to look at him as he pointed at him and told him 'I can never forgive you'
Police search woodland near to where Miss Everard's body was found. Couzens burned her body and dumped it in a pond
Miss Everard's disappearance sparked a huge manhunt and led to an outpouring of anger about the safety of women on the streets
'I can never hold her again': Sarah's mother Susan says she now hugs daughter's dressing gown
Susan Everard, mother of Sarah Everard
Sarah Everard, 14th June 1987 to March 2021
Susan Everard, Sarah's mother
'Sarah is gone and I am broken hearted. She was my precious little girl, our youngest child. The feeling of loss is so great it is visceral. And with the sorrow come waves of panic at not being able to see her again. I can never talk to her, never hold her again, and never more be a part of her life. We have kept her dressing gown - it still smells of her and I hug that instead of her.
'Sarah died in horrendous circumstances. I am tormented at the thought of what she endured. I play it out in my mind. I go through the terrible sequence of events. I wonder when she realized she was in mortal danger; I wonder what her murderer said to her. When he strangled her, for how long was she conscious, knowing she would die? It is torture to think of it. Sarah was handcuffed, unable to defend herself and there was no one to rescue her. She spent her last hours on this earth with the very worst of humanity. She lost her life because Wayne Couzens wanted to satisfy his perverted desires. It is a ridiculous reason, it is nonsensical; how could he value a human life so cheaply? I cannot comprehend it. I am incandescent with rage at the thought of it. He treated my daughter as if she was nothing and disposed of her as if she was rubbish.
'If Sarah had died because of an illness, she would have been cared for. We could have looked after her and been with her. If she had died because of an accident, people would have tried to help - there would have been kindness. But there is no comfort to be had, there is no consoling thought in the way Sarah died. In her last hours she was faced with brutality and terror, alone with someone intent on doing her harm. The thought of it is unbearable. I am haunted by the horror of it.
'When Sarah went missing we suffered days of agony, not knowing where she was or what had happened to her. Then, when Sarah's burnt remains were found, we spent two terrible days waiting for tests to show how she had died, fearing she had been set alight before she was dead - the thought was appalling.
'Burning her body was the final insult, it meant we could never again see her sweet face and never say goodbye.
'Our lives will never be the same. We should be a family of five, but now we are four. Her death leaves a yawning chasm in our lives that cannot be filled. I yearn for her. I remember all the lovely things about her: she was caring, she was funny. She was clever, but she was good at practical things too. She was a beautiful dancer. She was a wonderful daughter. She was always there to listen, to advise, or simply to share with the minutiae of the day. And she was also a strongly principled young woman who knew right from wrong and who lived by those values. She was a good person. She had purpose to her life.
'My outlook on life has changed since Sarah died: I am more cautious; I worry more about our other children. I crave the familiarity and security of home; the wider world has lost its appeal. It is too painful to contemplate a future without Sarah, so I just live in the here and now. I think of Sarah all the time, but the mornings and evenings are particularly painful. In the morning I wake up to the awful reality that Sarah is gone. In the evenings, at the time she was abducted, I let out a silent scream: Don't get in the car, Sarah. Don't believe him. Run!
'I am repulsed by the thought of Wayne Couzens and what he did to Sarah. I am outraged that he masqueraded as a policeman in order to get what he wanted. Sarah wanted to get married and have children, now all that has gone. He took her life and stole her future and we will never have the joy of sharing that future with her. Each day dawns and I think, Sarah should be here, leading her life and embracing new experiences. She had so many years ahead of her.
'I don't know how anyone could be so cruel as to take my daughter's life. What I do know is that Sarah will never be forgotten and is remembered with boundless love.
'I cling on to memories of Sarah, I hold them tight to keep them safe. The other night, I dreamt that Sarah appeared at home. In my dream I held her and could feel her physically. Jeremy was there, we were comforting her, saying 'it's alright Sarah, it's alright'. I would give anything to hold her once more; I hope I dream that dream again.'
Killer was in debt for £29,000, rowed with the Met over pay, had a fake Match.com profile, and used escorts
Couzens was in debt to the tune of £29,000 at the time of the killing, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Little said: 'In relation to finances at the material time his bank accounts were generally overdrawn only being brought into credit for short periods either by wages paid in and/or the use of short term payday loans.
'He had a total debt of just under £29,000 with a number of financial institutions, which were the subject of a debt management plan agreed in Oct 2020 with a debt management company, Payplan, with agreed monthly repayments of £235.
'As at March 2021, the defendant also had a credit card account with NatWest which was in debt (£3460.70); and a PayPal credit card account which was also in debt (£1580.27); both of which had debt payment plans in place to make minimum monthly payments.'
Couzens was involved in a dispute with the Met over his pay,' Mr Little said, adding: 'He talked freely to colleagues about this, and the fact that he was hoping to obtain legal assistance in the near future. He had not discussed any other financial problems with colleagues.
'Most of his colleagues had the impression that he was a ''family man'.'
The court also heard how Couzens had been paying for sex with escorts and had a Match.com profile under a fake name.
Mr Little said: 'In early February 2021, the defendant was in contact with an escort with username ''escourtbabygirl'' through the Adult Work Escort Service.'
Lord Justice Fulford asked the Crown if they were planning on bringing up evidence he had seen in written submissions that colleagues said Couzens was partial to 'brutal sexual pornography'.
Mr Little said it had been deliberately omitted. Couzens' lawyer Jim Sturman QC, said it was from 2002 and was irrelevant.
Couzens bought a rubbish-strewn plot of woodland where he burned Sarah's body
The Old Bailey heard that Couzens and his wife had bought a plot of woodland by Ashford, Kent.
Mr Little said: 'The defendant's plot of land is very close to, and in the same woods, that he was to burn Sarah Everard's body after he had murdered her.
'He then moved her body in green bags that he had purchased specifically for that task to a pond deeper into the woods but which was only about 130 metres from his plot,' said Mr Little.
PC worked on 'Covid patrols' and 'knew the language used to tackle offenders'
In January this year Couzens was working in 'Covid patrols' and was aware of coronavirus regulations and the language used on those who may have breached them, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Little said that he had 'arrested' and handcuffed Miss Everard for a breach before raping and murdering her.
He continued: 'These were uniform Covid patrols in which the Covid regulations were enforced. The defendant undertook a couple of such shifts.
'He was therefore aware of the regulations and what language to use to those who may or may not have breached them, if speaking to them. He was to use that knowledge to kidnap Sarah Everard.'
Policeman carried handcuffs with him while not on duty
Members of the public had noticed Couzens wearing his police belt when not on duty, with a pair of handcuffs and black pepper spray holder.
'This is the type of equipment that it can be inferred that the defendant was wearing when he kidnapped Sarah Everard,' said Mr Little.
He continued: 'It was not unusual for officers on PaDP to take personal protective and other equipment (including body armour and handcuffs) home with them from the Lillie Road base - they were required to undertake frequent training, at a number of different locations, to which they would travel directly.
'For convenience, they would often take home the kit needed.
'Two members of the public had independently noticed seeing the defendant when he was not on duty wearing his Police belt with handcuffs and a rectangular black pouch (similar to a pepper spray holder) attached to it (whilst out in Deal walking his dog; and when attending a local computer hardware repair shop in the town).
'This is the type of equipment that it can be inferred that the defendant was wearing when he kidnapped Sarah Everard.
'It is instructive that in relation to the incident in the repair shop that when the owner asked the defendant jokingly if he was 'into kinky stuff' when he referred to the handcuffs that were visible on the defendant's belt. The defendant said 'I am an undercover police officer'.
'As he said that the defendant chuckled but then opened his jacket a little more to reveal his Police issue kit.' 
March 5: The case is escalated and the Specialist Crime Unit becomes involved. Couzens, who is due to be off until March 8, reports to work that he is suffering with stress. At 2pm he buys two green rubble bags for £9.94 at B&Q in Dover (pictured)
Murderer's final shift before the murder - guarding the American Embassy
Couzens worked his last shift from 7pm on March 2 to 7am the next day. It was a posting at the American Embassy.
Mr Little said: 'That evening the defendant discussed the possibility of leaving the Metropolitan Police because of the pay dispute and depending on the outcome he might go off sick with stress.
'This was meant to be the start of his period of five rest days, from Wednesday Mar 3 at 7am to Mar 8 at 7am, when he was due to return to Lillie Road for a training day.'
The next day he had a sick day but lied to his family, saying he was working another night shift.
At this point his wife sent a message to his mother saying: 'Wayne had a call for overtime shift tonight. I wondering if you could pick children from school tomorrow, would you?'.
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