Who is Wayne Couzens' wife? Ukrainian-British scientist Elena Couzens suspected in Sarah Everard's kidnapping
Elena Couzens, the wife of Wayne Couzens has been arrested on suspicion of assisting the kidnapping of Sarah Everard. Everard was kidnapped from South London on March 3, and her remains were found in Kent earlier on March 12. The mystery of her kidnapping is dominating British news, given that Wayne is an officer with the Metropolitan Police.
Elena is a Ukrainian-British scientist who married Wayne in 2006. She was arrested by the police on March 9 and later released on bail. The couple has two children together.
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Who is Elena Couzens?
Elena Sukhoreba Couzens was born and raised in Ukraine. She has a degree in biochemistry from the University of Donetsk. After graduating in 2003, Elana went to work as a laboratory technician in Ukraine before moving to the UK. In 2006, she married Wayne after the couple met online. She gave birth to a daughter in 2010 and a son in 2012. After moving to the UK, Sarah first worked at a Boots opticians store in Canterbury, Kent.
At the time of her arrest, the 38-year-old was working for Medical Engineering Technologies Limited, an engineering company in Dover, Kent. There seemed to be nothing extraordinary about the couple, who lived in Freemen’s Way, Deal, Kent. Elena was described as "chatty" by neighbors but didn't speak very good English according to their landlady.
The family visited Ukraine in 2017 and Dubai in 2019. Elena's mother, Nina Sukhoreba, is a retired teacher who lives in Kirovograd, 185 miles south of Kiev.
Everard's disappearance remains a mystery
Everard's high-profile case has gripped the nation since her mysterious disappearance on March 3. The working theory is now that Wayne, an officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, used his ID to lure Everard before kidnapping her. It is not clear what role Elena played, if any, in the horrific incident. Everard's remains were found in a woodland in Kent, near the Couzens' home.
So far, police are yet to ascertain a motive for the incident. A police statement said, "The man is a serving Metropolitan Police officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. His primary role was uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic premises. A woman, who is aged in her 30s, was also arrested on the evening of March 9 on suspicion of assisting an offender. She remains in custody."