LONDON (AP) — The suspected abduction and murder of a young London woman as she walked home has dismayed Britain and revived a painful question: Why are women too often not safe on the streets?
The fate of Sarah Everard is all the more shocking because the suspect arrested on suspicion of killing her is a U.K. police officer whose job was protecting top politicians and diplomats.
Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, set out on the 50-minute walk home from a friend’s house in south London at about 9 p.m. on March 3. She has not been seen since.
Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Sarah Everard who has been missing for over a week. The 33-year-old disappeared on Wednesday March 3, 2021 after leaving a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, and began walking to her home in Brixton. The Met Police have said that a serving diplomatic protection officer is being held over the disappearance of Sarah Everard. The officer being held is understood to be the subject of a separate allegation of indecent exposure. (Metropolitan Police via AP) 
Police outside a house where they have erected a boundary wall during their investigations, and unidentified human remains have been found in a nearby woodland, during the hunt for missing woman Sarah Everard, in Deal, southern England, Friday March 12, 2021. The Met Police have said that a serving diplomatic protection officer is being held over the disappearance of Sarah Everard. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP) 
A forensic officer leaves a house in Freemens Way, in connection with missing woman Sarah Everard, in Deal, England, Wednesday March 10, 2021. Britain’s Metropolitan police says an officer has been arrested in connection with the case of a woman who went missing in London last week. The force said the fact that the man is a serving police officer is “shocking and deeply disturbing.” Police said the officer was arrested late Tuesday in Kent, southeast of London, as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Sarah Everard. (Steve Parsons/PA via AP) 
Police outside a house where they have erected a boundary wall during their investigations, and unidentified human remains have been found in a nearby woodland, during the police hunt for missing woman Sarah Everard, in Deal, southern England, Friday March 12, 2021. The Met Police have said that a serving diplomatic protection officer is being held over the disappearance of Sarah Everard. The officer being held is understood to be the subject of a separate allegation of indecent exposure. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP) 
Police officers conduct a search in an area of woodland in Ashford, south east England, Thursday March 11, 2021, following the discovery of human remains in the hunt for missing woman Sarah Everard. Britain’s Metropolitan police says an officer has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and murder in connection with the case of a woman who went missing in London last week. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP) 
A missing sign outside Poynders Court on the A205 in Clapham, London Wednesday March 10, 2021 during the continuing search for Sarah Everard who has been missing for a week. The 33-year-old disappeared on Wednesday March 3 after leaving a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, and began walking to her home in Brixton. The Met Police have said that a serving diplomatic protection officer is being held over the disappearance of Sarah Everard. The officer being held is understood to be the subject of a separate allegation of indecent exposure. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)
On Tuesday, police arrested a member of the force’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. The officer in his 40s, whose name has not been released, is being held on suspicion of kidnapping and murder but has not yet been charged.
On Wednesday, a grim-faced Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said officers had found human remains in woodland southeast of London. They have not yet been formally identified, but Everard’s family issued a statement Thursday saying “our beautiful daughter Sarah was taken from us and we are appealing for any information that will help to solve this terrible crime.”
Everard’s disappearance has caused a nationwide outcry, with thousands appealing for information to help find her. Women also then began sharing experiences of being threatened or attacked — or simply facing the everyday fear of violence when walking alone.
“When she went missing, any woman who has ever walked home alone at night felt that grim, instinctive sense of recognition,” columnist Gaby Hinsliff wrote in The Guardian. “Footsteps on a dark street. Keys gripped between your fingers. There but for the grace of God.”
Organizers of a planned vigil in Everard’s memory are going to court Friday after police said they could not gather because of coronavirus restrictions. Britain is now in lockdown and all mass assemblies are banned.
The Reclaim These Streets organizers want to hold a socially distanced gathering Saturday on Clapham Common, an open space on the route of Everard’s walk home. Anna Birley, one of the organizers, said “safety has been a priority from the get-go.”
“It would be ironic to organize a vigil to think about women’s safety in public spaces without also thinking about the health and safety aspects,” she said.
The case has also raised tough questions for the police. Britain’s police watchdog is investigating how the force handled a complaint of indecent exposure against the same man three days before Everard disappeared.
The Independent Office of Police Conduct is also investigating how the suspect sustained a head injury while he was in custody. The police force says he was found injured in his cell and taken to a hospital for treatment before being returned to a police station.
