Sarah Everard murder: "Our lives will never be the same".

The mother of Sarah Everard has said she is "broken-hearted and distraught" over the murder of her youngest child.

The 33-year-old was handcuffed by Wayne Couzens as she walked home from a friend's house in Clapham on March 3. The now former Met Police officer pretended she was under arrest for breaching coronavirus guidelines.

The ordeal Ms Everard suffered could be summarised as "deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire", the court heard from Prosecutor Tom Little QC on the first day of Couzens' sentencing hearing.

In a statement she read out at the Old Bailey today (Wednesday, September 29), Ms Everard's mother, Susan, said she has kept her daughter's dressing gown as it smelt like her.

Mrs Everard said: "She spent the last hours on this Earth with the very worst of humanity.

"Sarah died in horrendous circumstances. I go through the sequence of events. I wonder when she realised she was in mortal danger.

"Burning her body was the final insult. It meant we could never again see her sweet face and never say goodbye.

"Our lives will never be the same. We should be a family of five, but now we are four."

Her father, Jeremy Everard, shared a harrowing description of her body, as he told Wayne Couzens "you forever broke our hearts".

"A father wants to look after his children and fix everything and you have deliberately and with premeditation stopped my ability to do that," he said.

"We loved being a part of Sarah's world and expected her to have a full and happy life. The closest we can get to her now is to visit her grave every day."

The 48-year-old worked on Covid patrols in January, the court heard, and so would have known the formal terminology to use regarding potential breaches as he handcuffed Ms Everard under the pretence of arrest.

Couzens has admitted to her kidnap, murder and rape.

Lord Justice Fulford will sentence Couzens on Thursday.

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