More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
The wife of police officer Wayne Couzens says she is still struggling to come to terms with her husband's horrendous crimes.
Elena Couzens, 38, has spoken out after her husband pleaded guilty yesterday at the Old Bailey to murdering Sarah Everard, having already admitted kidnapping and raping her.
Speaking to MailOnline, Elena said she was distraught at having failed to notice any warning signs in her husband's behaviour.
"If I had any idea what was going on in Wayne's head, then none of this would've happened but I didn't know anything," she said. "He didn't appear to be acting strangely. I didn't notice anything was wrong."
She said most of her time had been occupied with work and childcare, adding: "I can't comprehend it because he never once previously showed any glimpse of violence, he was never that way. I'm just as puzzled as everyone else.
"I saw nothing wrong. He had a beautiful family, a good house… what else did he need? I'm constantly asking myself 'where I did miss the signs?' How on earth could this have happened?"
Miss Everard, 33, a marketing executive, was abducted while walking home in south London in March and was later discovered more than 50 miles away in Great Chart, near Ashford. A post mortem report revealed she had been strangled.
Originally from York, she went missing while walking home to Brixton after visiting a friend, and her remains were discovered a week later next to a defunct leisure and golf complex in Great Chart.
Met Police officer Wayne Couzens was arrested and later and charged with kidnap and murder. He admitted charges of kidnap and rape in June, before pleading guilty to Miss Everard's murder yesterday, following medical reports.
His wife Elena has since recounted the moment armed police raided their semi-detached home in Deal, Kent, and said she believed it was his colleagues playing a prank. But as the officers continued searching the house an hour later, it became clear the investigation was real.
She also spoke of having to break the news to the couple's children.
Still coming to terms with events, Elena said the could only think her husband had been affected by manic depression, as he'd often be 'up and down' and energised, but that she could still not explain his actions.
She had since reached out to the family of Ms Everard to pass on her condolences via the Metropolitan Police, adding: "The feelings I'm going through, they are going through much worse. It is horrendous.
"As a parent, I have my own two children. I do not want anything like that to happen to them. I cannot imagine the heartache that Sarah's parents are going through.
"If I had the power to bring anyone back from the dead, Sarah would be the first person that I would choose. I wish I could rewind the last three months and stop this from happening."
Couzens is due to be sentenced on September 29.
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