Wayne Couzens hatched sick kidnap plot weeks before Sarah Everard’s murder

A police officer in London hatched a twisted kidnap plot weeks before he murdered his victim Sarah Everard – then he tried to brazenly cover his tracks.

British police officer Wayne Couzens hatched a sick kidnap plot weeks before he murdered London woman Sarah Everard’s – then he tried to brazenly cover his tracks.

The sick and twisted killer planned the evil abduction in advance – before circling around London’s streets on March 3 looking for a victim to snatch, rape, and murder.

Ms Everard, 33, was his unfortunate victim – and the cop will this week be sentenced for his crimes.

But evidence shows how Couzens hatched his abduction masterplan weeks in advance – and then tried to hide his tracks.

The killer cop bought items to carry out the kidnapping, rape, and murder days before he snatched Ms Everard as she walked home in Clapham Common, as suburb of south London.

The cop, whose nickname was “The Rapist” among colleagues, was seen on multiple CCTV clips buying petrol, hairbands, and rubble bags during his premeditated plot.

On February 10, Couzens bought a “police standard-issue handcuff key with double locking pin” from Amazon, costing him $A4.65.

Wayne Couzens pictured buying kidnap supplies before kidnapping Sarah Everard. Picture: Met Police

The cop will this week be sentenced for his crimes. Picture: Met Police

The cop was seen on CCTV buying hairbands he used in the horror attack. Picture: Met Police

Then on February 28, he rented the car used to snatch Ms Everard using his name, address and two different mobile phones.

Minutes later, he bought a 600mm by 100mm roll of self-adhesive film from Amazon to use in the attack.

On the night he took Ms Everard as he pretended to be acting on Covid patrol, the cop was seen on CCTV buying hairbands he used in the horror.

Prosecutor Tom Little QC says Couzens bought the pack of hairbands from a Tesco supermarket at 8pm “for the purposes of the planned kidnap and rape”.

The next morning after he raped and murdered the 33-year-old, he drove to the town of Sandwich on the Kent coast and disposed of Ms Everard’s phone – before driving to a petrol station.

There, he filled up his own car and also filled up a can of petrol in a jerry can – later used to burn her body.

And Couzens was seen buying two large green rubble bags from hardware retailer B&Q on March 5 – the same day he called his work to say he was “suffering from stress” and was unable to work.

As part of his grim killing kit, Couzens also purchased carpet protector, tarpaulin, and a cargo net on March 7.

And he also then emailed his boss to say he didn’t want to carry firearms anymore.

Met Police officer Wayne Couzens.

Sarah Everard was abducted and killed while walking home in March. Picture: AFP Photo/Metropolitan Police

On March 8 he was seen entering another hardware retailer, Homebase, to collect a flat packed trolley he bought.

On March 9, his phone was reset to factory settings – in a bid to remove any evidence on it.

Just 30 minutes later, police entered his home and he was handcuffed and arrested.

He has been painted as a sex mad fiend despite portraying the image of a married dad-of-two and even contacted escorts and used a Match.com dating profile.

Couzens spun a web of lies after he was arrested – meeting Ms Everard’s heartbroken family.

Killer’s masterplan

Bizarrely, Couzens claimed he had “no choice” but to kidnap Ms Everard, who was a stranger to him, for a human trafficking gang.

He was in debt by about $A54,152 with additional credit card debt at the time he murdered Ms Everard.

Couzens previously claimed he was unable to pay for a prostitute he met in a Holiday Inn hotel in Folkestone on England’s south coast so he was ordered to find “another girl” otherwise his family would be harmed.

In a clip released by London’s Metropolitan today, Couzens is seen handcuffed as cops quiz him over the young woman’s disappearance.

Couzens insisted he did not know Ms Everard or know where she was, feigning ignorance as detectives showed him her photo and told him her family was desperate for answers.

But after declaring he had no idea where she was, the sick cop – who had planned the abduction for weeks before tricking the 33-year-old – suddenly changed and “confessed”.

He had in fact been involved – constructing a ludicrous fake story involving a Romanian gang to cover his tracks.

Ms Everard was last seen on CCTV heading home from a friend's house Credit: PA

Mr Couzens pictured with Ms Everard. Picture: Met Police

“I am in financial sh*t. I have been lent on by … I don’t know who they are. A group, a gang, whatever,” in the clip Couzens can be heard telling the officers.

“They told me I need to go and pick up girls and give them to them so, I said – happily.

“And it then came through that there are going to harm my family and take them away and use them instead.

“At that point, I had no option to try and find somebody.

“I was told a place to take her, that’s it. That’s all I know.”

After snatching Ms Everard off the street, Couzens drove her hours away before raping and strangling her with his police belt before burning her body.

But Couzens fabricated an elaborate story about how the gang made him abduct the young woman before they took her while slamming him against the car.

He continued his twisted lie about how he was “forced” to snatch Ms Everard, saying: “I parked my car up. The van came up behind me and flashed me, and they all jumped out. And they took this girl.”

Planned the sick abduction

“They said, ‘you’ve done good’,” he added.

“And I don’t know if my family is going to be all right still. They threatened to take my family away from me.

“At that point, I’m doing what I can protect my family.”

Harrowing details of Ms Everard’s murder were revealed for the first time ahead of the Met Police officer being sentenced for kidnap, rape and murder.

Ms Everard’s parents stood up and read out impact statements – while sitting through the painful final moments that their beloved daughter went through.

They watched the horrific CCTV footage where Couzens targets and kidnaps Ms Everard before she was put into his car.

This is the impact statement written by Susan Everard, Sarah Everard's mum. Her agony is palpable. Rest in peace beautiful Sarah. #SheWasJustWalkingHomepic.twitter.com/A5MWusNp9f

— Dr Laura-Jane Foley (@laurajanefoley) September 29, 2021

London court The Old Bailey heard how Couzens used his warrant card to lure Ms Everard into his car as she walked home by claiming he was on a Covid patrol.

Couzens, who joined the Met Police in 2018, was charged with kidnap and murder more than a week after Ms Everard first vanished when police swooped on his home in Deal, Kent.

The cop, who worked on the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command unit, had finished a shift earlier on the morning of March 3 and was not on duty at the time of Ms Everard’s disappearance.

Despite wiping his phone, data on the device linked Mr Couzens to the abduction and eventually the area where Sarah was found.

While in custody, former mechanic Couzens was twice taken to hospital with head injuries.

Questions are now mounting over why Couzens was even still on the force following a wave of indecent exposure claims made against him.

Shockingly, Couzens was not given enhanced vetting when he joined the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Unit in February 2020.

Cover-up attempt

This was despite colleagues in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, where he worked before the Metropolitan Police, nicknaming him “The Rapist”.

Twelve police officers are being investigated by the UK’s independent Office for Police Conduct for gross misconduct over matters relating to the case.

The watchdog is probing whether Police failed to investigate two allegations of indecent exposure relating to Couzens just four days before he took Sarah.

A separate investigation is also ongoing into claims Kent Police failed to follow up on an allegation of indecent exposure in Dover in 2015.

The Met issued a statement today ahead of the hearing, saying they are “sickened, angered and devastated” by Couzens’ actions.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and is reproduced here with permission