Wayne Couzens, a police officer in London, was nicknamed The Rapist by his colleagues on the Metropolitan force. Couzens, 48, was today sentenced to spend his whole life in jail for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March.
Wayne Couzens, 48, was handed a whole life order for the "grotesque" killing of the 33-year-old marketing executive which shocked and outraged the nation. Sentencing at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Lord Justice Fulford said the seriousness of the case was so "exceptionally high" it warranted a whole life order.
"The misuse of a police officer's role such as occurred in this case in order to kidnap, rape and murder a lone victim is of equal seriousness as a murder for the purpose of advancing a political, religious ideological cause," he said. He described the murder as "devastating" and "tragic" and said Couzens went out "hunting a lone female to kidnap and rape".
I'm struck by how much coverage is about the victim's innocence. It's as if the idea of an innocent, blameless victim is so alien to readers that without constant reminders, their minds will drift to what she must have done to deserve being kidnapped by a cop, raped in a ditch and then strangled with his police belt. Her blamelessness is often the headline in stories about his blamefulness.
Likewise, his being nicknamed The Rapist by those who knew him is something we're told "raises questions" but no-one ever seems to get asked any.
