Former Met officer Wayne Couzens murdered Sarah Everard in 2021(Picture: PA/Shutterstock)
Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens should never have been hired as a police officer, and multiple opportunites to stop him were either missed or ignored, an inquiry has found.
The family of Sarah Everard welcomed the inquiry’s findings, and said they believed the 33-year-old died because Wayne Couzens was a police officer as she ‘would never have got into a stranger’s car,’ in other circumstances.
In a statement, Sarah’s parents and siblings Sue, Jeremy, Katie and James, said: ‘As a family, the inquiry has helped us, not just because of its significant findings, but because its implementation made us feel that Sarah’s life was valued and her memory honoured.
‘Her death has not been dismissed as a tragic event to be acknowledged with sympathy and then forgotten – questions have been raised and actions taken to investigate how this tragedy happened.
‘As a family, we have not had to fight for answers and, for this, we are very thankful.
‘It is obvious that Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer. Whilst holding a position of trust, in reality he was a serial sex offender.
‘Warning signs were overlooked throughout his career and opportunities to confront him were missed.
‘We believe that Sarah died because he was a police officer, she would never have got into a stranger’s car.’
Their statement continued: ‘It is almost three years now since Sarah died. We no longer wait for her call; we no longer expect to see her.
‘We know she won’t be there at family gatherings. But the desperate longing to have her with us remains and the loss of Sarah pervades every part of our lives.’
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