LONDON – A body found this week in a wooded area in southeastern England has been identified as belonging to Sarah Everard, police said on Friday, ending days of uncertainty about the fate of the 33-year-old marketing executive who disappeared in the south of London last week.
His disappearance sparked a wave of solidarity and anger against gender-based violence in Britain.
“Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave unfortunately confirmed that the body found in the Kent forest was identified as Sarah Everard,” the Metropolitan Police said on Twitter. “Our thoughts are with Sarah’s family and loved ones at this difficult time.”
A police officer was arrested this week in Kent, 80 miles southeast of London, and is in custody on suspicion of kidnapping, murder and, in a separate incident, indecent exposure.
Mrs. Everard left a friend’s house in the Clapham neighborhood at around 9:00 pm on March 3 and was last seen on a CCTV camera at 9:30 pm in a residential area. The trip home should have taken about 50 minutes.
The remains of a body were discovered in Kent by police on Wednesday, dampening hopes that Everard will be found alive.
“Sarah was brilliant and beautiful – a wonderful daughter and sister,” said her family on Thursday. “She was kind and caring, caring and trustworthy,” they added, describing her as “a shining example for us all.”
Everard’s disappearance prompted thousands of women this week to share their experiences of aggression, harassment in public spaces and walking the streets in fear.
Although police officials said this week that kidnappings in London were rare, Mayor Sadiq Khan acknowledged on Friday that the streets of the British capital were not safe enough.
Jesse Phillips, a labor lawmaker, said in an annual debate organized for International Women’s Day in Parliament on Thursday that men killing women were accepted as part of daily life.
“Dead women are just one of those things,” said Phillips before reading the names of women who were killed in the last year a man was convicted or charged in the case. “Dead women are not uncommon, dead women are common.”