Previously suspected Wayne Couzens, a serving British police officer has been charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard on Friday according to the Metropolitan Police, reports Reuters.

Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive disappeared on March 3 while walking back home from a friend’s place in South London. 
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Following a subsequent investigation, a body found in the woods a few days back has been identified as Everard according to British police. A British officer is currently kept in custody over suspicions of kidnapping and murdering the missing woman. 

Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave had previously said, “The body has now been recovered and a formal identity procedure has taken place. I can now confirm that it is the body of Sarah Everard.” 

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Adding further, Ephgrave said hundreds of officers were “working around the clock to establish the full circumstances of Sarah’s disappearance and her murder, reported AFP. 

“A man remains in custody at a London police station on suspicion of committing those crimes,” he had told the reporters. 

The latest developments came as detectives said they had been given more time to question a serving member of the Metropolitan Police’s elite diplomatic protection unit in connection with the case.

Wayne Couzens was first detained on Tuesday in Kent, southeast England on the suspicions of his involvement in the kidnapping and was then arrested for murder the next day. There is a separate allegation of indecent exposure against him. 

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a watchdog, is probing the police over its handling of the case after Wayne had to be given medical assistance on Thursday while he was in police custody for a head injury he sustained while he was alone in his cell. 

The IOPC watchdog will also be investigating if the Met officers responding to the indecent exposure accusation appropriately.