Sarah Everard’s Mother Tells Inquiry She Is Still Haunted by the “Horror” of Her Daughter’s Final Hours
The mother of Sarah Everard has delivered a deeply emotional statement to the Angiolini Inquiry, saying she remains “tormented” by the thought of what her daughter endured in the hours before her murder, and describing a grief that has reshaped her life in ways that are invisible to the outside world.
Sarah Everard, 33, was kidnapped and killed in March 2021 by serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who is now serving a whole-life sentence.
Speaking through a written statement read to the inquiry, Susan Everard said the loss of her daughter continues to sit at the centre of her life, even as she outwardly appears to carry on.
“Outwardly we live our normal lives, but there is an inner sadness”
Mrs. Everard said she often reflects on how grief marks her internally, even when there is no visible sign of it.
“I read that you shouldn’t let a tragedy define you,” she wrote. “But I feel that Sarah’s death is such a big part of me that I’m surprised there is no outer sign of it, no obvious mark of grief.”
She described living between moments of painful emotion. sadness, anger, fear, guilt and long stretches of quiet that are broken without warning by fresh waves of loss.
“Grief is unpredictable,” she said. “It sits there quietly only to rear up suddenly and pierce our hearts.”
A bond with other bereaved parents
Mrs. Everard acknowledged the kindness shown to her family, and the painful solidarity shared with other parents who have lost children.
“We are not the only ones to lose a child, of course, and we form a sad bond with other bereaved parents,” she said.
Four years on from Sarah’s death, she said the initial shock may have faded, but the deeper sense of loss and dreams of the future that will never happen remain constant.
“All the happy, ordinary things of life have been stolen from Sarah and from us, there will be no wedding, no grandchildren, no family celebrations with everyone there.”
Still unable to reach “acceptance”
Mrs. Everard told the inquiry that she is still not able to revisit joyful memories of her daughter without the shadow of what happened.
“When I think of her, I can’t get past the horror of her last hours,” she said. “I am still tormented by the thought of what she endured.”
Although time has softened some edges of the pain, she said she is “not yet at the point where happy memories come to the fore.”
As for the idea that acceptance is the final stage of grief, she added gently: “I am not sure what that means.”
The Angiolini Inquiry continues
The Angiolini Inquiry, established to examine police vetting, culture and failures surrounding Couzens’ ability to remain a serving officer, is now in its second phase. Its work has already raised concerns about systemic shortcomings in responding to violence against women and girls.
The Everard family’s testimony forms part of a broader effort to understand how policing failures contributed to the conditions that enabled Couzens to commit his crimes and how they can be prevented in the future.
Mrs. Everard’s words offered a stark reminder of the human cost behind the inquiry: a family living with a loss that time cannot erase, and a call for meaningful change so that no other family endures the same devastation.
