UK: Police officer charged with London woman's murder

LONDON (AA) – A Metropolitan London police officer was charged Saturday with the kidnapping and murder of a woman whose remains were found days after her disappearance.

Wayne Couzens, 48, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of his involvement in the disappearance of Sarah Everard, 33.

Everard was last seen walking to Brixton from Clapham after leaving a friend’s house, but police said her remains were found in woodlands in Kent, some 30 kilometers from where she disappeared.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded Couzens in custody, and he will appear again in court next Tuesday.

Couzens, who joined the police force in 2018, was a part of team serving in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.

During his duty, he is likely to have been in shifts including the guarding of foreign diplomats and MPs.

Everard was a marketing executive who vanished in south London on March 3.

A court on Saturday heard that her body was found in a builder’s bag in a woodland area in Ashford, Kent.

“I don’t have the power to consider the question of bail. That will be considered should you wish to make an application to the court on 16 March,” Goldspring said.

“You are therefore remanded in custody until that date, both charges having been sent to the crown court.”

Everard’s murder has sparked tension across the country, with the government being urged to provide safer streets for women.