Cops Who Kill With Will Mellor lifts the lid on eight shocking murder cases where police officers have committed murder. Will Mellor is joined by a team of experts, like forensic psychiatrist Serena Simmons, to reveal how the perpetrators used their police training to try and escape justice.
The opening episode looks at the 2021 murder of Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home from a friend’s house in London. The case shocked the country as all the evidence pointed the police towards one of their own, Wayne Couzens.
After CCTV from a passing bus caught Couzens speaking to Sarah on the side of the road, detectives descended on his house to question him.
During Cops Who Kill, Will Mellor and Serena Simmons examine the police bodycam footage from when Couzens was first arrested at his Kent home on 9th March, less than a week after Sarah disappeared.
Below is the transcription of the moment he was arrested and the questioning that followed.
Detective: So we’re here to talk to you about Sarah. Let me show you a picture. Do you know Sarah?
Wayne Couzens: I don’t, no.
Detective: Okay. Sarah went missing. I’ll show you some pictures of her on the day. Sarah went missing on Wednesday and her parents obviously, and her family, are really worried about her. The inquiry that has been conducted so far has led us to come and speak to you about it, to see what you know about Sarah, okay? So would you like to…do you know where Sarah is?
Wayne Couzens: No.
Detective: Do you know anything about what happened to her?
Wayne Couzens: I know that she went missing up in London somewhere. What, about a week or so ago? Just from what I got on the news.
Detective: Okay. Have you ever personally met her?
Wayne Couzens: No, not personally, no.
Detective: Have you had any interactions with her at all?
Wayne Couzens: Why would I have personal interactions with her?
Detective: This interview is just about trying to find her.
Wayne Couzens: Sure
Detective: Because she’s been missing for a while now.
Wayne Couzens: Well I’m sat in handcuffs and you’re asking me what I know about her, so you must have something to say that I know her.
Detective: Well as I say, you’ve been arrested on suspicion of kidnap and we believe that you’ve been involved in her disappearance and have taken her away from her family.
Wayne Couzens: Okay
Detective: So we are trying to find her.
After spending some time denying that he had ever met Sarah, Couzens changed tact and started to claim that he had been blackmailed by a gang who threatened to harm his family.
Wayne Couzens: I am in financial **** and I’ve been leant on by, I don’t know who they are. They’re a group, a gang, whatever and they told me I need to go and pick up girls and give them to them. So, I said ‘It’s not happening’. And it then came through that they were going to harm my family, take them away and use them instead. At that point I had no option but to try and find somebody. So I don’t…there’s a couple of names, I was told a place to take her. That’s it. That’s all I know...and hand her to this group of people.
Detective: Tell me about them, I need to find them. Tell me everything you know.
Wayne Couzens: Okay, there was a white Sprinter van. They are between sort of Lenham, Maidstone area that I dropped her off. They said ‘You done good’ and I don’t know whether my family is going to be alright still. But they threatened to take my family away from me. So, at that point I’m doing what I can to protect my family. That’s it.
Cops Who Kill airs Mondays at 10pm on Crime + Investigation and new episodes are released weekly on Crime + Investigation Play.
