A suspect has reportedly been charged in the murder of University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson, who rode off with the murderer believing he was her Uber driver.
Police in Greenville, South Carolina arrested Nathaniel David Rowland, 25, at around 3 a.m. on Saturday, when Josephson had been missing for over 12 hours. According to a report by the Democrat & Chronicle, Rowland was stopped driving a black Chevy Impala two blocks from the area where her body was found.
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In a press conference on Saturday evening, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook explained how the authorities had zeroed in on Rowland and settled on charging him with Josephson’s murder. In surveillance footage from the Bird Dog bar, Josephson can be seen waiting by the curb at 2:09 a.m. A black Impala matching Rowland’s pulled up, and she climbed in.
Police believe Josephson was waiting for a ride hailed by Uber or a similar service. She was not seen or heard from after entering the Impala until her remains were found the next day.
When Rowland was pulled over in the early hours of the next morning, police reportedly asked him to get out of the car. He fled on foot, though officers eventually got up to him after a brief chase. When they returned to his car, they found “a lot of blood” in the trunk and passenger side of his car.
Forensics experts processed the blood quickly and determined that it was Josephson’s. Police also found her phone in the vehicle, further connecting Rowland to the crime.
Police even said that the scene where Josephson’s body was discovered was likely known to Rowland, who had lived nearby recently. However, Holbrook said that the investigation is ongoing.
Josephson’s friends and roommates reported her missing at around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, and her body was found by turkey hunters off of a dirt road at around 4 p.m.
Josephson’s father reacted to the heinous crime in a Facebook post on Saturday morning. He thanked the police and the community for their support in this trying time.
“It is with tremendous sadness and of a broken heart that I post this!” he wrote. “I will miss and love my baby girl for the rest of life. Samantha is no longer with us but she will not be forgotten. It is extremely hard to write this and post it but I love her with all my heart. I could continue to write about her but it kills me. I sit here and cry while looking at the picture and write this.”
