September 30, 2021 1.37 pm This story is over 30 months old

Lincolnshire PCC calls for more action to protect women as Sarah Everard murderer is jailed

He said her mum’s impact statement brought him to tears
Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones said the impact statement read out by Sarah Everard's mother in court made him cry as he called on police to "do more" for women's safety.
By Local Democracy Reporter

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones has said he cried while reading the impact statement from Sarah Everard’s mother, as murderer Wayne Couzens is handed a life sentence.

Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer at the time, has been given a whole life sentence for the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, 33, when she was walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham on March 3.

The remains of Sarah’s body were found by police dogs in a pond in Kent the day after the incident, after Couzens had burned her body before dumping the remains.

A memorial for Sarah Everard in Lincoln on university campus. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Couzens’ sentencing at the Old Bailey on Thursday means that he will spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of parole, due to the severity of the case.

The court heard how Couzens may have used COVID-19 lockdown rules as an excuse to stop Sarah while she walked home, before handcuffing and arresting her.

Chalk markings on the benches on uni campus. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Sarah Everard’s mother Susan read out an impact statement in court, in which she said her daughter died in “horrendous circumstances” and she is “haunted by the horror of it”.

She said: “She lost her life because Wayne Couzens wanted to satisfy his perverted desires. It is a ridiculous reason, it is nonsensical; how could he value a human life so cheaply? I cannot comprehend it.

“I am incandescent with rage at the thought go it. He treated my daughter as if she was nothing and disposed of her as if she was rubbish.”

The second Sarah Everard tribute right outside the former police station on West Parade. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Sharing the impact statement of Sarah’s mother, Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones said he cried reading the “pain laden” words of Susan Everard as she told of her heartbreak at losing her daughter.

The Lincolnshire PCC said on Twitter: “I read these incredibly pain laden words by Susan Everard on the loss of Sarah and cried. I sobbed.

“As a parent of a daughter I want to protect, as a man in a world where male violence to women is too common, as a PCC who wants to keep our streets safe, I cried. We must do more.”

Women used the pavement as their canvas as they protested on Lincoln High Street. | Photo: The Lincolnite

The Sarah Everard case became a national tragedy overnight, with protests held across the country as women defended their right to safety in the streets.

In Lincoln, a memorial went up on University Library Bridge, and people used chalk to write slogans and harrowing statistics of female harassment in an attempt to raise awareness of the wider issue.

The protests accelerated in Lincoln and eventually the city centre was covered with chalk markings calling for a culture change in the fight for gender equality.