London police officer gets life for abducting, killing woman

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A serving London police officer has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a woman he tricked into his car using his police identification and COVID-19 laws. Wayne Couzens was accused of falsely arresting 33-year-old Sarah Everard for violating lockdown restrictions as she walked home from visiting a friend in south London on March 3. Prosecutors said he handcuffed Everard, drove her far outside the city, and then raped and strangled her with his police belt. Couzens had pleaded guilty. The sentencing judge on Thursday called the circumstances of the case “devastating, tragic and wholly brutal,” and said it was exceptionally serious and warranted a whole life sentence.