LONDON (AP) – The alleged kidnapping and murder of a young London woman as she walked home upset Britain and raised a painful question: Why are women too often not safe on the streets?
The fate of Sarah Everard is all the more shocking because the suspect charged with kidnapping and murder on Friday is a British police officer whose job protects politicians and diplomats.
Everard, a 33-year-old marketing manager, left a friend’s home in south London around 9pm on March 3 at around 9pm. She never got there. Police confirmed on Friday that a body hidden in the forest 50 km southeast of the city belonged to her.
Police in London on Tuesday arrested a member of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection commander as a suspect in the case. Late Friday, police charged the officer, Constable Wayne Couzens, with kidnapping and murder. Couzens, 48, was due to appear in court on Saturday.
In a statement issued Thursday, Everard’s family said “our beautiful daughter Sarah has been taken from us and we are appealing for information that will help solve this horrific crime.”
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“I know the public is hurt and angry about what happened, and these are sentiments that I personally share,” said Metropolitan Police Commissioner Nick Ephgrave.
Everard’s disappearance and murder caused a nationwide uproar, and thousands called on information on social media to help find her. After that, women also began to experience experiences of threat or attack – or simply faced the daily fear of violence when walking alone.
A poster asks people for information about missing woman, Sarah Everard, in the Clapham Common area in London, Monday 8 March 2021. New circuit television and missing 33-year-old Everard were discovered during the police investigation to locate Everard who was a nearby friend’s house last Wednesday night to walk home, but since then nothing has been heard of. (Kirsty O’Connor / PA via AP)
(Kirsty O’Connor / PA via AP)
“When she went missing, any woman who ever walked home alone at night felt the grim, instinctive sense of recognition,” columnist Gaby Hinsliff wrote in The Guardian. “Footprints in a dark street. Keys seize between your fingers. There but for the grace of God.”
Organizers of a planned vigilance in Everard’s memory have failed in a legitimate attempt to gain the right to hold the event, despite the coronavirus restrictions that hamper mass gatherings.
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The organizers of the Reclaim These Streets want to keep a social distance on Saturday at Clapham Common, an open space on the way from Everard’s walk home.
A judge in the Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant an order that a rally would be legal, meaning organizers could face fines of up to $ 14,000.
Metropolitan police officers search land near Great Chart Golf and Lesiure, in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Everard, in Ashford, England, on Wednesday 10 March 2021. British Metropolitan police say an officer has been arrested in connection with the case of a woman who went missing in London last week. (Gareth Fuller / PA via AP)
(AP)
‘I understand that this statement will be a disappointment to those who hope to express their feelings, but I ask women and allies across London to find a safe alternative way to express their views, said Catherine Roper, police commander.
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Despite the verdict in court, some women said they still plan to protest on Saturday.
The case raised difficult questions for the police. The British watchdog from Britain is investigating a charge of indecent exposure against the same suspect three days before Everard disappeared.
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The independent police behavior office is also investigating how the suspect sustained a head injury while in custody. Police say he was found injured in his cell and taken to a hospital for treatment before being returned to a police station.