I think this case has engendered such strong responses for many reasons.
The first, and most important to remember is a woman going about her every day business has been brutally and senselessly murdered, devastating to her family and friends whose lives are forever changed and mired in a grief . There will be months or even years of building a case, media attention, and the possibility of a "not guilty" plea and a savage court room battle. The Defence has a duty if instructed so, to get their client a "not guilty" verdict, and they will use anything to bolster that case, even beyond common decency in the eyes of the public / decent human beings. Until one experiences a court case personally, it's not often recognised that it's a bit of a fight to the death for victory on both sides, and the pursuit of actual justice seems like a bit of a side bar.
I'm not saying that he shouldn't be considered innocent until proven guilty, because that is the law. I think for him to have been charged so quickly as a policeman himself, suggests they are confident enough they have their man. Anything less would invite accusations of bias to one of their own, on the other side of the coin, might a defence include his victimisation or that personal grudges are at the root of his arrest? I would hope that in the face of solid and overwhelming evidence, his solicitor would strongly advise him to plead guilty and spare the family a horrendous trial experience. If he goes the mental health route, so be it. That will be hopefully robustly examined and conclusions drawn to decide where he should end up.
A "not guilty" verdict could result in the release of a dangerous man back onto the streets. I think it unlikely, but it could happen.
The family and friends of this man are also going through hell caused by him. Some will refuse to believe it at all. Others will have their worldview changed completely, trying to reconcile the man they believed they knew could do such a thing with the rather overwhelming evidence of his guilt.Some will be questioning their contact with him, things he said or did that might have pointed to such an inclination. Some may feel guilty because they wrote off "banter" or perhaps odd drunken displays of bad behaviour, refused to see it as a pattern or a flaw in his character, thinking it wasn't significant. His mother if she is still alive will probably be torn between loving and protecting her son, who may, in her eyes always have been a loving and respectful son (Or not. I'm speculating, trying to imagine this from all sides) and wondering if / where she went wrong. So might his father or other relatives. They may effectively share the burden of his guilt. He did this.
Onto wider society. Women see one of their own murdered despite doing "all the right things" and are naturally enraged, want justice, to feel safe and rightly, I feel, see it as a reflection of the societal rot that is mysogyny, hyper sexualisation from a young age, things they (mostly) have resisted and fought against, despite the message that freedom of choice is paramount and that there is, always has been, and always will be imbalances in power between the sexes, and that they are as responsible as the men who commit violence, as the victims of said violence.
The accused is a serving policeman (though off duty at the time [sceptical], as I have more than once been reminded by off duty policeman that they still have a duty to uphold the law) and I cannot imagine the broohaha going on right now - his colleagues have had their perfectly decent respectful reputations as defenders of the law and protectors called into question - similar to the NAMALT argument, NAPALT - but it only takes one to make everyone cast a suspicious eye and wonder how many have abused their authority in some way. On a wider scale, the Met will be aghast at this public relations fuck up. It should generate a thorough investigation into attitudes in the force and provoke a rigorous programme of attitude adjustment training - for the good of society and themselves. Politically, there is a shedload of ammunition to aim at the government over lack of resources etc etc.
The snowball effect and ripples will rumble through for a dogs age. It illustrates a society gone very very wrong on many levels.
You can say all you like, when any case of a murdered woman comes up, but NAMALT, but statistics prove that a significant proportion ARE disrespectful of women on a sliding scale that can end in murder. Statistics also prove that men who kill women can be "excused" - they just snapped, he was a good father, a good husband - like the man who killed his wife in a "moment" of lockdown induced stress, a couple of weeks in, because she was dismissive of his feelings apparently, and who strangled her with a cord after following her downstairs as she tried to escape, and was found with her house keys in her hands. Whose sentence was low, because it was un-premeditated manslaughter. He didn't mean it. It just happened. And he confessed. Good guy points right there.
Whether it's a stranger or a man known to you, the facts are the same. A woman is at serious risk when a man decides, in the moment, that she is his target. Fighting back may not work - it may enrage an attacker further - it may spell the difference between life and death.
I do not want to believe that most men are rapists or murderers. Most men are not. But most men I have been in contact with, including those I love, have demonstrated unconscious misogyny and lack of respect in what should be normal human to human interactions.
I don't subscribe to the idea that men are intrinsically violent nor that women are intrinsically nurturing or any of that bollocks, frankly. But I do believe that our society, somewhat by design, is steeped in an unhealthy stew of confusion over the standards of human decency, which should apply to all.
This crime has put so many things under the microscope that are long overdue examination and need to be discussed, analysed, and maybe, hopefully resolved to whatever degree is possible. Even if it is as mundane as everyone stopping and thinking before speaking and acting, and not to police or silence opinion, but so that those opinions are heard and examined for their source. If a debate gets heated, so be it. We're all adults, and while we dislike being disagreed with, it's going to happen.
Denying there is an elephant in the room because we can't believe that it is someone's husband, son, brother or father is a disservice to both sexes.