The prosecutor said the 33-year-old victim was “completely stranger” to the police officer who admitted to kidnapping, rape and murder.

British police officer Wayne Couzens confessed to the murder of Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old woman who was kidnapped while returning home from a friend’s house in south London.

Couzens previously admitted to kidnapping and raping Everard, the marketing executive who went missing on March 3.

Couzens pleaded guilty to murder at a hearing at the Central Criminal Court in London on Friday. He appeared in court via a video link from Belmarsh High Security Prison.

When asked how he defended the murder charge, he had a beard and a blue sweatshirt, sat with his head down, and said “Guilty, ma’am.”

After Everard disappeared, the police launched a major investigation.

A week later, her body was found in the woods more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of London, near a piece of land owned by Couzens.

The search for Everard and the news of her death caused a national outcry, with women sharing experiences of being threatened, assaulted, or facing daily fears of violence while just walking alone.

Police in the British capital were criticized after some women who participated in the Everard vigil were arrested for violating coronavirus restrictions.

Couzens, 48, joined the London Metropolitan Police in 2018 and recently served in the Parliament and Diplomatic Protection Command, an armed force responsible for guarding the capital and parliament embassies.

Prosecutor Tom Little said that before the kidnapping of Evra in a rented car from the South Ring Road in London, Cuzens had never seen her and they were “complete strangers”.

Judge Adrian Fulford said that Kuzens had only given a completely wrong description of the incident before, and this was an elaborate story involving Eastern European gangs.

Despite his plea, the prosecutor said Couzens did not disclose where he raped and killed Everard.

“We still don’t know what drove him to commit this appalling crime against a stranger,” said Caroline Oakley of the Crown Prosecution Service.

“Today is not the day to hear the facts about what happened to Sarah. Today is a day to commemorate Sarah. Our thoughts are still with her family and friends.”

Couzens will be sentenced at a two-day hearing that begins on September 29.

The police force expressed shock and horror at his crimes, but faced an investigation by the police supervision agency to investigate how it handled the allegations of indecent exposure to Couzens a few days before Efrad was kidnapped.

Britain’s most senior police officer and chief of the London Metropolitan Police Department, Cressida Dick, told reporters outside the court that she had personally apologized to Everard’s family.

“All of us in the metropolis feel sick, angry, and sad about this man’s crimes. They are terrible,” she said.

Couzens’ lawyer James Sturman said that his client’s request represented “real guilt and regret for what he did.”

“As he told us this morning, he will bear this burden for the rest of his life, and he deserves it-his words’I deserve it.’ He accepts that the victim in this situation is Evlad His family and friends, not him,” Stuman told the court.