Police officer pleads guilty to murder of Sarah Everard

Everard was killed earlier this year.

Police officer Wayne Couzens has pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard. 33-year-old Sarah was found dead in March of this year after being reported missing when she did not return home from a friend's house in Clapham, south London. Couzens, a Metropolitan police officer, was arrested in connection with the disappearance not long after an extensive search began. He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping Everard last month. He also admitted responsibility for her death. Today, the 48-year-old pleaded guilty to Everard's murder via video link at the Old Bailey court from Belmarsh high-security jail. 33-year-old Everard disappeared after she walked home from a friend's house in Clapham, south London, on 3 March. Her body was found a week later in woodland near Ashford, Kent. A post-mortem found that Everard died from compression of the neck. A statement at the time read: "A post-mortem examination into the death of Sarah Everard held at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford has given cause of death as compression of the neck. "Sarah's family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers."