crime
Sarah Everard’s killer loses appeal
The murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard caused horror in Britain in the spring. Now it’s decided, the killer must be behind bars for life
Londoner Sarah Everard’s killer has lost an appeals case and faces the rest of his life in prison. The Court of Appeal on Friday denied the former police officer’s request for a reduced sentence. Judge Ian Burnett ruled that the verdict was correct given the circumstances of the crime.
The case sparked a nationwide outcry about violence against women. The man stopped 33-year-old Everard on March 3, 2021 using his ID card because she had disregarded corona rules. He kidnapped, raped and killed the young woman.
The ex-policeman’s lawyer had said as a reason for the appeal that his client had to rightly spend “decades in prison”, but a life sentence was excessive. It was the first time in England that a man had been sentenced to life in prison with no prospect of parole for a murder. Previously, this harshest punishment was only given to people who had killed multiple victims.
The Court of Appeal also ruled in other high-profile cases. For example, the minimum prison term for a man who killed his six-year-old son with his partner was increased from 21 to 24 years. Another man who murdered his two young children and his partner now faces at least 48 years in prison instead of 40. The sentence for a double murderer who killed his wife and then his fiancé six years later was reduced from life to at least 35 years behind bars.