SLED Releases Cause Of Death For USC Student Found Murdered
The Latest:
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has released the cause of death for 21-year-old Samantha Josephson.
According to a statement released Monday afternoon on behalf of the Clarendon County Coroner’s Office, Josephson died due to “multiple sharp force injuries.”
This is an ongoing investigation by the Columbia Police Department, the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office and SLED.
The Associated Press also reports that the accused killer, Nathaniel Rowland, did not appear at a jail hearing Monday morning. He will reportedly remain in jail at least until the date of his bond hearing, which has yet to be determined.
Original Story:
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Police arrested a man Saturday in connection with the death of a college student who apparently got into the suspect’s car thinking it was her Uber ride.
Nathaniel David Rowland, 24, was arrested early Saturday after a police officer noticed him driving a black Chevy Impala, the same type of car that Samantha Josephson got into as she left a bar shortly after 2 a.m. Friday in the city of Columbia’s 5 Points area, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said at a news conference.
Rowland tried to run, but the officer was able to catch up to him, Holbrook said. When they returned to the car, he said, the officer saw what appeared to be blood in the car.
“We believe … that she simply mistakenly got into this particular car thinking it was an Uber ride,” Holbrook said of Josephson, noting that surveillance video captured her getting into the car. “She opened the door and got into it and departed with the suspect driving.”
Rowland will be charged with murder and kidnapping, Rowland said. It was unclear if he had an attorney.
Holbrook said hunters found Josephson’s body late Friday afternoon off a dirt road in rural Clarendon County, which is about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of Columbia.
Nathaniel David Rowland will remain in jail at least until his bond hearing at an undetermined date. It is unknown if he has a lawyer.
The State newspaper quotes Marci Josephson as saying Sunday that her daughter’s killer has “taken away a piece of our heart, soul and life.” Marci Josephson said her daughter was bubbly, loving and full of life and planned to go to law school after graduating in May.
Arrest warrants released Sunday morning said 21-year-old Samantha Josephson had numerous wounds to her head, neck, face, upper body, leg, and foot. The documents didn’t say what was used to attack the University of South Carolina student.
The arrest warrants say a large amount of what DNA testing showed to be Josephson’s blood was found inside Rowland’s vehicle and trunk after police say he was arrested early Saturday just blocks away from where Josephson was kidnapped the night before.
The warrants say Rowland turned on the child locks in his vehicle so the back doors could only be opened from the outside and also had turned on the window locks.
