Missed chances to stop killer cop Wayne Couzens as documentary into monster airs
Killer cop Wayne Couzens could have been caught before he murdered Sarah Everard as police missed several chances to snare the monster, it has been claimed.
He was eventually caught and when he was sentenced to a whole life term, detectives from the Metropolitan Police probed whether 50-year-old Couzens was connected to any historic crimes.
The news came as a McDonald's worker claimed that Couzens had flashed her at work, and later it was discovered that a police sergeant shut down an investigation into the monster without even speaking to him.
Since the shocking crime in 2021, it has emerged that there were many chances to catch Couzens, all of which were missed by the Metropolitan Police.
A new documentary about Couzens airs tonight (Channel 5)Couzens was given a whole-life term for the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah, 33, as she walked home in South London on March 3, 2021.
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Ex-Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Parm Sandhu spoke in a new documentary that investigates Sarah Everard's killer, called 'Wayne Couzens: Killer in Plain Sight,' which airs on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm.
She said: "I do believe it's likely there will be another Wayne Couzens."
The biggest opportunity to stop Couzens was when he joined the Met in 2018 and was not properly vetted, despite having been accused of indecent exposure three years earlier, she said.
"He should never have been given the opportunity to transfer to the Met," she said.
Sarah Everard was brutally murdered by the killer cop (PA)
Parm Sandhu said Couzens should never have made it into the Met (PA)Police missed the chance to stop Couzens after identifying him as a suspected sex offender six years before he murdered Sarah Everard, a report found.
A police sergeant shut the case without speaking to him, the Independent Office for Police Conduct said. The officer, named as PS X, was cleared of misconduct by his force last month.
Couzens was reported to Kent Police driving naked from the waist down in 2015. Days later PS X accessed police records for Couzens, which gave details of his past service on the force.
He concluded the witness did not want to support the probe, and said the suspect had not been identified, the IOPC said.
Parm Sandhu said a similar incident could happen again (Supplied)
Wayne Couzens was given a whole life sentence (PA)There was no evidence he knew Couzens or read of his work for Kent Police. Couzens later passed Met vetting and was with the force when he killed Sarah, 33, in 2021.
The IOPC said: "PS X's alleged failure...could have had implications in relation to Couzens' vetting to join the [Met]."
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A misconduct meeting, where the maximum penalty was a final written warning, found the sergeant breached police standards for duties and responsibilities but that it did not amount to misconduct.
It was decided that he would undergo "reflective practice", including training on sexual offences and input on investigative processes.
The news comes after ex-Met PC Samantha Lee, 29, was barred from policing for lying over her botched probe into Couzens on the day he murdered Sarah.
Speaking after the hearing, Ms Lee said she had been made into a "scapegoat" for the Met's shortcomings.
Sarah's murder sparked a wave of protests (PA)"I am a young female PC and I am the only person who has faced any disciplinary action in relation to this," she said.
After he was jailed, Couzens was charged with four sex offences in the days before he killed Sarah Everard.
One incident is alleged when he was working as an armed protection officer on the Saturday before he abducted Sarah.
He was later jailed for a further 19 months for indecent exposure in the weeks before he killed Sarah Everard.
The former Met cop was supposed to be on duty, working from home, when he flashed at a female cyclist, a court has heard.
Details of the ex-Metropolitan Police officer's activities in the months before the killing were heard at the Old Bailey as he appeared to be sentenced for three offences of indecent exposure in March 2023.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley answering questions from the London Assembly police and crime committee (PA)The flashing incidents took place in woodland and at a fast food restaurant in Kent between November 2020 and February 2021.
The last incident happened just a few days before 33-year-old Ms Everard was snatched in south London.
Couzens appeared at the Old Bailey via video-link from Frankland Prison to be sentenced by Mrs Justice May.
Opening the facts, prosecutor Tom Little KC said Couzens had stood completely naked before a female cyclist in Ringwould Road near Dover on November 13 2020.
At the time, Couzens was on duty and was supposed to be working from home in Deal, Kent, the court was told.
Would Sarah be alive today if the Met had acted sooner? (PA)The prosecutor said the incident happened on an isolated narrow rural lane running inland between Deal and Dover.
It is only a few miles from where the defendant took Ms Everard, having kidnapped her and after he had moved her from one vehicle to another in Dover.
Couzens stepped out of the woods and stood on a bank above the female cyclist as she rode uphill towards him.
Mr Little said the defendant was "totally naked" and masturbating as he looked at the woman.
He said: "She felt she had no choice but to continue cycling along that country lane.
"There were no words exchanged between them. She had a clear view of him and clearly remembered what he looked like."
Couzens has since been charged with earlier crimes (SWNS)
Couzens will spend the rest of his days behind bars (PA)Around 50 metres further on, she cycled past a parked black car which looked "old" and "a little battered" but she was unable to recall the full number plate.
As she rode on, the cyclist came across two women and told them what she had seen.
One of them said she was a police officer and would keep a look out, the court heard.
When she reached a crossroads, the cyclist rang her husband and later reported the incident online to Kent Police, providing a description saying he was "middle-aged with a slight paunch".
At the time, Couzens had a black Seat car in poor condition but, in the absence of a number plate match, the investigation stalled.
People marched through Clapham in south London, to mark the first anniversary of the murder of Sarah Everard (PA)After Couzen's arrest over the disappearance of Ms Everard, the cyclist recognised him from his picture.
Mr Little said: "As a result, she contacted the police again. She felt instant shock at seeing the picture and said she was 90 per cent sure it was him who masturbated in front of her.
"Further inquiries have confirmed that the defendant was due to be working from home in Deal on 13 November 2020 between 8am and 4pm. It follows that he was on duty at the time of the offence but was not at home."
Traffic cameras and cell site data located Couzens in his Seat in that country area at that time.
On March 25 2022, Couzens was interviewed about the incident and replied "no comment", the court heard.
A few months later, on different occasions on February 14 and 27, 2021, Couzens exposed his genitals to staff at a drive-through fast food restaurant in Kent.
He sat in his car and looked straight at them as he showed his erect penis while handing over his card to pay for food.
The female staff affected were left "shaken, upset and angry".
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick made a statement outside of the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court, following the sentencing of British police officer Wayne Couzens (AFP via Getty Images)On the last occasion, staff took a registration number and identified the car from CCTV as a black Seat which was registered to Couzens.
A credit card in his name was used to pay, while ANPR and cell site data was used to track the defendant's car in the area at the time of the incidents.
Mrs Justice May, said: "Wayne Couzens is currently serving a whole of life term for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.
"The sentence I will pass today will not affect that whole of life term.
"But sentencing also serves as a public recognition of the fact offences have been committed and to mark victim's courage and resilience in reporting the offences.
"Each of the victims is to be commended for reporting and following through.
A crowd turned on their phone torches in Clapham Common, London, for a vigil for Sarah Everard (PA)"He was looking straight at them with his genitals in their line of sight when their job required them to interact with them.
"He could have easily been traced by his car and his card. Nothing was done by police at the time. Sarah Everard was taken three days later on March 2, 2021.
"The fact that no police came to find him or his black car, to question him about these incidents, can only have served to confirm and strengthen in the defendant's mind a dangerous belief in his invincibility, in his power to dominate and sexually abuse women without being stopped."
Following his murder conviction, Couzens was charged with six counts of indecent exposure.
In February, he pleaded guilty to three of the charges after a bid to get the case thrown out due to publicity around Ms Everard's murder.
He had denied three other indecent exposure allegations in June 2015, one between January 22 and February 1, 2021, and one between January 30 and February 6, 2021.
Those charges are expected to be left on court file.
An independent inquiry led by Dame Elish Angiolini will consider Couzens' earlier sexual offending and whether opportunities were missed to stop him before he murdered Ms Everard.
Wayne Couzens: Killer in Plain Sight airs on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm.
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