A serving UK police officer has pleaded guilty to raping and kidnapping Sarah Everard

• Police officer Wayne Couzens has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping Sarah Everard.
• Everard's body was found in March, a week after she went missing walking home in London.
• Her death sparked a new conversation about male violence against women.

The UK police officer Wayne Couzens has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping Sarah Everard, the BBC reported.

Everard disappeared in March, and her body was found in a wooded area a week later.

She was last seen on surveillance footage walking home from a friend's house in Clapham, in south London. Her body was found in Kent, about an hour away.

Couzens pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey court in London on Tuesday. He appeared by video link.

A postmortem said that she died from compression on her neck.

Everard's death sparked a new conversation about male violence against women in the UK, including a vigil where police were criticized for heavy-handed tactics.

The Metropolitan Police declined to comment to Insider, citing ongoing legal matters.