A weekend clash between police and protesters honoring a woman who was found dead after herdisappearanceon a walk through London has spotlighted the issue of women’s safety, as a police officer has been accused of her murder.
The victim, 33-year-old marketing executiveSarah Everard, disappeared March 3 while walking home. On Friday, police confirmed that remains found more than 50 miles from where she’d last been seen belonged to Everard, according toCNN.
On Saturday, a “serving police constable,” Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court and was charged with Everard’s kidnap and murder.
It was not immediately clear if Couzens has commented on the charges or retained an attorney to comment on his behalf.
Sarah Everard.Metropolitan Police
Her death and the search for a suspect prompted many women to share stories about fearing for themselves in public — and on Saturday, after police failed to head off a vigil for the victim, images of officers grabbing women at the event only served to amplify their call for an end to male violence after police had put the onus on women to protect themselves.
Vigil held In memory of murdered Sarah Everard.Leon Neal/Getty
“She wanted to pay her respects to Sarah and her family,” a royal source tells PEOPLE. “She remembers what it felt like to walk around London at night.”
“The police are trying to silence us, the police are trying to repress us,” hundreds of protesters said in unison, repeating the words of a speaker at the vigil’s center, according to theTimes. “The police said we can’t have a vigil to remember Sarah Everard. The police have the nerve to threaten us. The police have the nerve to intimidate us.”
“We. Say. No,” the protesters chanted.
Vigil for murdered Sarah Everard.Guy Smallman/Getty
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In arelated statementahead of the event, police Commander Catherine Roper said: “Since Sarah’s disappearance, we have shared Londoners anguish, shock and sadness at the truly awful circumstances of her disappearance and death. … We take no joy in this event being cancelled, but it is the right thing to do given the real and present threat of COVID-19.”
A woman is detained during a Saturday vigil for murdered Sarah Everard.Hollie Adams/Getty
Police lined up at a vigil for murdered Sarah Everard.DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty
With police attempting to disperse the gathering, those in the crowd chanted, “Hey, mister, get your hands off my sister!,” reports theTimes. Others called out: “Arrest your own!” and “Police, go home!”
As the search for Everard was underway, her family issued astatementthrough police that said: “Sarah was bright and beautiful – a wonderful daughter and sister. She was kind and thoughtful, caring and dependable. She always put others first and had the most amazing sense of humour.”
“She was strong and principled and a shining example to us all,” it continued. “We are very proud of her and she brought so much joy to our lives.”
PEOPLE was unable to immediately reach Everard’s family.
source: people.com
