The relief that the Met Police officer Wayne Couzens has pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard, sparing her family the trauma of a drawn-out trial, only goes some way to temper the horror at the details which have now emerged.
It appears that Couzens, who had already admitted to kidnapping and raping Everard, set out that day in March with the intention of abducting a woman – any woman, as long as she was alone and an easy target. He had rented a car three days beforehand; he had driven around looking for a potential victim; he hid her body in a bag he had bought a few days previously. He was an armed police officer tasked with protecting parliamentary and government officials. The thought of him contemplating the rape and killing he later carried out while on duty, whilst wearing a uniform that signalled to the public that he was someone to be trusted, is sickening.
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