LONDON (AP) — The suspected abduction and murder of a young London woman as she walked home has dismayed Britain and revived a painful question: Why are women too often not safe on the streets?
Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, disappeared as she walked home from a friend’s house in London on March 3.
Police confirmed Friday that a body found in woodland 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of the city is hers.
A Metropolitan Police officer, Wayne Couzens, was charged late Friday with kidnapping and murder. Police say Couzens joined the force in 2018 and was last assigned to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, according to the BBC, where he patrolled mainly embassies around London.
Everard’s disappearance has caused a nationwide flood of emotion, with women sharing experiences of being threatened or attacked — or simply facing the everyday fear of violence when walking alone.