According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Officer Wayne Couzens, 48, will appear before the Westminster Magistrates Court for his first hearing on Saturday.
Everard disappeared on March 3 while walking in Clapham, South London, prompting an extensive police investigation of the area.
Her remains were eventually found more than 50 miles from where she was last seen. A post-mortem examination will now be conducted on Everard’s remains.
Couzens, a police officer whose “primary role was the uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic buildings,” was arrested in Kent on Tuesday. He was charged Friday, according to a statement by Rosemary Ainslie, the CPS’s chief of special crime.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, a police watchdog, said in a statement on Thursday that it has launched an independent investigation into police actions involving the suspect.
Many also exchanged notes on the usual precautions they take to try to stay safe when walking alone – such as holding keys between their knuckles, pretending to be talking to someone on the phone, or not wearing headphones at night – and their Expressing anger and frustration that it feels like a necessary step.
Couzens joined the Met in September 2018, where he joined a response team in the Bromley area, south-east London. He then transferred to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in February 2020, where his “primary role consisted of uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic buildings, mainly a series of embassies,” the Met statement said.
Nick Ephgrave, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said on Friday that he understood that “women in London and the general public, especially those in the area where Sarah was missing, will be concerned and may feel scared,” and that Londoners could expect an increase in the number of officers on the street in the coming days.
“I know the public is hurt and angry about what happened. And those are feelings that I personally share, and I also know my colleagues here at Scotland Yard and the Met stock,” said Ephgrave.
‘Reclaim the Streets’
A series of vigils were scheduled for Saturday across the country, including in Clapham Common, a green space where Everard walked nearby at 9 p.m. local time, as she made her way to her home in Brixton.
The “Reclaim These Streets” events were canceled after London police said the vigil could not go ahead, citing coronavirus restrictions, organizers said in a statement Saturday.
“We are very disappointed that, given the many opportunities to engage constructively with the organizers, the Metropolitan Police is unwilling to commit. While we have had positive discussions with the Lambeth officers in attendance, those from Scotland Yard does not respond to our suggestions to ensure that a legal, Covid-safe vigil can take place, ”the organizers said in the statement.
Instead, the group will raise £ 32,000 (about US $ 44,544) for women’s causes, which would also cover £ 10,000 (about US $ 13,920) in potential fines for the 32 vigils planned across the country.
More than 70% of women surveyed by UN Women UK said they had experienced sexual harassment in public places. That figure rose to 97% among women ages 18 to 24, polls showed. The data, released Wednesday, comes from a YouGov survey of more than 1,000 women commissioned by UN Women UK in January 2021.
The organization’s survey also suggested that women have little faith in public institutions to handle the situation.
“Only 4% of women told us they had reported the harassment cases to an official organization. 45% of women said they did not believe reporting would help change anything,” said UN Women UK.
Women are not the only ones who feel threatened on the street; According to the annual Crime Survey for England and Wales, published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), men are more likely to be victims of violent crimes involving strangers and acquaintances than women.
But government data shows that men are much more likely to be prosecuted for acts of violence against both women and men. In the three-year period ending March 2020, the vast majority of suspects convicted of manslaughter were male – 93% of the total, according to an US homicide report.
CNN’s Flo Davey-Attlee and Livvy Doherty contributed to this report.