What new information was revealed in the Sarah Everard documentary?

A new documentary about the murder of Sarah Everard aired on the BBC last night, examining the events of her kidnap, rape and murder, in a case that shocked the country.

Titled Sarah Everard: The Search For Justice, the programme the 33-year-old marketing executive's death at the hands of serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens and included the reaction of investigating officers when they discovered the identity of the killer, as well as other new information.

It is three years since Everard was kidnapped by Couzens near Clapham Common in south London while walking home from a friend's house.

On 3 March 2021, she was stopped by Couzens, who handcuffed her, put her in his car then drove her to a spot near Dover, Kent, where he raped and strangled her.

After pleading guilty to kidnapping, raping and murdering Ms Everard, Couzens was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order, meaning he will never be released.

The documentary took a close look at the Metropolitan Police's investigation and included interviews with senior police officers and the prosecuting barrister in the case.

Last week, an inquiry said Couzens, a "predatory sex offender and murderer", should never have been a police officer and that opportunities to stop him were repeatedly missed and ignored.

Its chairwoman, Lady Elish Angiolini, called for a radical overhaul of policing practices and culture, saying there is "nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight".

Yahoo News UK examines the new information that has emerged in the BBC documentary.

Key CCTV footage

The documentary looked at the intricacies of the search for Everard, including doorbell footage of her route home being investigated.

However, it was CCTV footage from a bus along her route that identified Ms Everard and Couzens, who was seen talking as he held his police search warrant up to her.

Vehicles logged on the road that night – including the white Vauxhall Astra rental car used by Couzens – and led police to their prime suspect.

Police 'shock' at Couzens revelation

The detective who led the investigation into Ms Everard’s murder told the documentary about the moment she learned the then chief suspect Couzens was a serving police officer.

Speaking on camera about the case for the first time, Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin revealed that police discovered Couzens was suspected of an indecent exposure offence days earlier in Kent before they found out he was a serving officer in the Metropolitan Police.

Goodwin said they discovered this after Everard and Couzens were spotted on CCTV footage next to a car, which led to his identification.

Goodwin said: “At that time, Wayne Couzens was a name that meant nothing to any of us. So immediately we start researching the name, also the phone number and the address that had been given when he’d hired the car."

When it emerged Couzens was suspected of indecent exposure, Goodwin said it “suddenly changed everything, because whilst I might have hoped that Sarah had got into the car with someone she knew, suddenly it was clear to me that she’d got into the car of an alleged sex offender”.

She sent a team to Couzens’ house in Kent to question him and, while officers were en route, a detective ran into her office, shut the door, and told her “you need to hear this”.

A researcher on the phone then revealed that Couzens was a serving Met officer.

Goodwin said: “I knew that I had to tell my boss and I can just remember the shock of having to just sit on the floor of the office and say to her, ‘You’re not going to believe this, that he’s a police officer’.

“And then the same questions went through her head as went through my head, ‘Are you sure?’.”

Couzens 'just went grey'

The documentary also revealed what happened when police knocked on Couzens's door to arrest him.

Former Metropolitan Police detective Nick Harvey was the first to question Couzens and recalled the moment he discovered the suspect was a serving officer while driving to his house.

“The gravity of the whole situation then became incredibly clear," he told the documentary. "You know, the moment I told the team, it just went silent.”

Harvey knocked on Couzens’ door and said that when he showed his warrant card “he just went grey”.

He said of Couzens: “Just… all the colour just ran out of his face."

Family releases new photos

The documentary features new photos of Ms Everard that were provided by her family to the BBC.

In one image, she is seen smiling at her graduation from Durham University in 2008, where she studied human geography.

In another photo, Everard is seen relaxing on a sunny day at Brockwell Lido, close to where she lived in Brixton Hill, south London.

A third image shows a smiling Everard holding a glass of rosé wine and a fourth depicts her looking into the distance while sitting at a table covered in flowers.

David Carrick

The documentary revealed how the coverage of Everard's murder prompted victims to come forward to report other police officers for cases of sexual assault, rape and other misconduct.

In the days after Couzens’ sentencing, a victim of David Carrick, an officer serving in the Metropolitan Police at the time, came forward.

“Sophie” spoke in the documentary and said hearing the victim impact statement of Everard’s mother in court drove her to speak out.

“I think that it was when she was saying about Wayne Couzens, the abuse of power that he used. Her words just echoed. I just knew that I had to report him,” Sophie said.

Carrick later pleaded guilty to 85 serious offences, including dozens of rapes during a 17-year campaign of attacks against 12 women. He was ordered to serve at least 30 years and is one of the UK’s most prolific sex offenders.

Reactions to the documentary

The shocking details revealed in the documentary left viewers reeling. Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, a campaigner for women’s rights, said that it “exposes the failure of the Metropolitan Police”.

Policing author and commentator Graham Wettone described it as a “tough watch”, while the charity Rape Crisis England and Wales said it was a ”distressing watch”.

Others said they were “furious” watching the programme, and that it was “bringing back the anger”. One person said it was “one of the most horrific things I’ve ever seen”, while another wrote that they were ”in a flood of Tears at what she must have felt in that car”, adding that they were “appalled at failings of the police”

Another posted that the Met ”were a disgrace with the way they handled the vigil”.

Read more

• Sarah Everard: The Search for Justice review – Necessarily frustrating viewing (The Independent)

• Sarah Everard police reveal moment they learned killer was a serving officer (PA Media)

• Wayne Couzens ‘should never have been a police officer', shocking report finds (Yahoo News UK)