British Police officer pleads guilty to kidnapping, rape in Sarah Everard murder case

A London metropolitan police officer has pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and rape of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman whose body was found in March, leading to a national reckoning in Britain over violence against women.

Wayne Couzens, 48, made the guilty plea at the Old Bailey, the central criminal court, in London on Tuesday, a clerk from the court told CNN.

Couzens also "accepts responsibility" for killing Everard but has not yet been asked to enter a plea on the charge of murder, the Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday. He will next appear in court on May 9.

Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was last seen on March 3 in the Clapham neighborhood of south London.

The police said that human remains had been found as part of their investigation into her disappearance, prompting an outpouring of grief from lawmakers, community leaders and London residents.

Couzens, a police constable whose primary role at the time was uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic premises, was arrested and charged with Everard's kidnap and murder, reported CNN.

Thousands of people gathered in South London on Saturday for a vigil to pay tribute to Everard despite police warnings that the event would defy coronavirus restrictions.

The crowd chanted "Shame on you!" and "How many more!" In what became a rally against gender violence, some clapped their hands and others held tea lights or signs that read "End Violence Against Women."

Thousands of women in the UK and around the world came forward after Everard's death to share their own experiences of intimidation or harassment while walking alone at night, CNN reported.

( With inputs from ANI )