Wayne Couzens, the police officer who murdered Sarah Everard, has been put into prison isolation after catching coronavirus.
Last September, Couzens was sentenced to a whole-life term for the kidnap, rape and murder of the 33-year-old marketing executive, who had been walking home from a friend’s house in southwest London when he abducted her during a fake Covid arrest before murdering her.
The Independent understands Couzens is not seriously ill with the virus, and that fewer than 20 inmates at HMP Frankland had become infected.
Prisoners and prison staff test regularly and those who test positive are required to self-isolate in line with standard public health advice.
However, prisoners' time spent out of the cell, including for visits and outdoor exercise, is continuing where possible, the Ministry of Justice said.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We have taken precautionary measures at HMP Frankland in line with public health guidance.”
After the end of a shift at the American embassy on 3 March 2021, Couzens – who at the time was a serving Met Police officer working in the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command – handcuffed Everard after pretending to arrest her for breaching Covid guidelines.
He showed his warrant card before restraining his victim using police handcuffs and driving her to a rural area near Dover, Kent.
He then raped her and strangled her with a police issue belt. He later burned her body and dumped her remains in a pond near Ashford, where they were discovered by sniffer dogs on 10 March.
Couzens was arrested on 9 March at his home in Deal, Kent, after police connected him to the hire car he used for the abduction.
On 30 September 2021, Couzens was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. He had pleaded guilty to the charges of kidnap and rape in June, before confessing to her murder the following month.
At his sentencing, Lord Justice Fulford described his crimes as “grotesque”, saying the whole life order was warranted because of his abuse of power.
