Despite this list, Josephsons body was neither taped nor burned. On the evening of March 28, 2019, 21-year-old University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson was out with her friends in the Five Points village in Columbia, South Carolina. [26][18], On July 27, 2021, Rowland was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Josephson and of possessing a weapon during a violent crime after the jury deliberated for a little over an hour. When examining the victim's back, she observed six puncture marks and explains why she feels the victim was stabbed at least twice, if not three times. Nathaniel Rowland was charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of 21-year-old Samantha Josephson. . According to authorities, Rowland activated the child locks so that the doors could only be opened from the outside, thereby trapping Josephson inside the vehicle. Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday. Similar laws were passed in New York and North Carolina, and federal legislation to protect rideshare passengers has also been proposed. Rowland was charged with murder and kidnapping on Saturday after he returned to the Five Points area. [Image of Samantha Josephson via Columbia Police Department], Have a tip we should know? She would have graduated in June and planned to attend Drexel University School of Law. [15][7][16], Using a two-bladed knife, Rowland proceeded to inflict roughly 120 stab wounds upon Josephson. [13], Josephson spent the night before her death in the Five Points district in downtown Columbia with friends. Legislation at the federal level is pending. Im almost confused. As reported by WYFF4, Josephson got separated from her friends, and reportedly contacted Uber for a ride back to her apartment. What happened to Samantha Josephson? NJ judge orders recount in Trenton City Council runoff won by 1 vote, Bed Bath & Beyond close to bankruptcy: Which NJ stores are left, Mercer County, NJ hiking trails closed for hunting on these days, 4th person sentenced to prison for violent Trenton, NJ riot, Robber off the streets forever after shooting NJ woman in neck and head, Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and EEO Report. Mr. Rowland said, I know Im innocent, but I guess what I know, what I think really doesnt matter. Samantha Lee Josephson was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and grew up in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Dr. Beaver found three wounds he considered lethal: Josephsons bloody underwear is shown to the jury. There was no password lock on the phone, and he saw a photo of white woman. @LawCrimeNetwork #SamanthaJosephson #NathanielRowland pic.twitter.com/vZQ9eXqQuI, Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) July 23, 2021. The case is expected to be turned over to the jury within the next day. Mr. Rowland told her he did not want to put their daughter in the back seat because of the blood, but it was the only place the booster seat would go, so they strapped her in. [10] She attended the University of South Carolina (USC), where she majored in political science. [50] Her diploma and college possessions were given to her mother. Rowland had one past felony arrest in South Carolina from October 2018 for obtaining a signature or property under false pretenses, according to the State Law Enforcement Division. In addition to identification markers in the front and rear windows, the State of New Jersey reports rideshare drivers must display a barcode, which riders can scan to identify the correct vehicle. [8], After their daughter's death, Josephson's parents established the What's My Name Foundation. [8] "There's a thousand trails each that led to you. Detectives said she had just ordered a lift on the popular hail-a-ride app - but the real Uber driver later cancelled the journey after she failed to show up. There was so little blood left in her body that the pathologist performing the autopsy barely had enough for routine testing. USC also asked students to pledge use caution when using ridesharing services by making sure any vehicles picking them up match the descriptions given in the services' app, and by asking for the drivers' names. Four hours later, authorities received a call from hunters, who found a body in a secluded area nearly 65 miles away from where Josephson was last seen. Prior to that, Dr. Thomas Beaver took the witness stand, telling jurors Josephson, 21, sustained several fatal wounds to the brain and neck when she was stabbed to death on March 29, 2019. Robbinsvile officials also took time out to salute the family, noting that her father, Seymour, "was like a big brother" to people when they played baseball together. On July 27, 2021, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. A child safety seat was also found in the back seat and the child safety door locks were locked. Lucas Daprile has been covering the University of South Carolina and higher education . Prosecutors admitted they never identified a motive for the gruesome attack and believe "it was absolutely a random act of violence.". [14] Josephson is buried at the Perrineville Jewish Cemetery in Perrineville, New Jersey. They reportedly found Samantha Josephson's cell phone, towels, cleaning products, and "a large amount" of what was later confirmed to be Samantha Josephson's blood. Josephson entered the vehicle, thinking it was her Uber driver. Born in Princeton, Samantha graduated from Robbinsville High School in 2015. Samantha, 21, got into Rowland's car after a night out in Columbia's Five Points entertainment district thinking it was an Uber ride that would take her back to her apartment, prosecutors said. Born in Princeton, Samantha was a student at The University of South Carolina majoring in political science. "We thought we would be here to see his evil face," Marci said in the WIS recording. Just days before New Jersey native Marci Josephson will bury her daughter, Samantha, she had just one question for the alleged killer: Marci then let anyone who could hear that she and her family are grieving, they're stunned, they're shocked and they're terribly angry that anyone could kill somebody they affectionately called "sweet pea.". There was no sign of a struggle at that location where she was found. [33] The act requires ride-share vehicles to display license plate numbers on the front. A stab wound that cut her carotid artery and made her bleed out. The Council would report to the Secretary of Transportation and work to advance safety standards in the rideshare industry. Several cameras caught the car in motion, as Mr. Rowland circled several times around the Bird Dog, making U-turns, like a shark hunting for prey, as an officer later put it. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. "She was such a sweet and caring girl," the person wrote. The double-bladed multi-tool had both Mr. Rowlands and Samantha Josephsons DNA on it. Rowland was seen by cops driving a car that matched the description of the one Josephson was seen entering in CCTV footage. Josephson's parents also established the What's My Name foundation, which raises awareness about rideshare safety and encourages providers to enact policies that help riders ensure they are getting into the right car. Additionally, it provides $500,000 in grants for colleges to educate students about ride-share safety and creates a study commission to examine ways to improve ride-share safety. Samantha Josephsons DNA was found on his bandana, shoes, and socks, and under his fingernails. [17] The car also contained Josephson's phone[25] as well as a large amount[16] of her blood, which was in the passenger seat and in the trunk. Murder victim Samantha Josephson, 21, was stabbed around 120 times in her horrific March 2019 death, according to Monday testimony from a forensic pathologist. There was also a spotted sheet in the bag with Josephsons DNA on it. Miss Howard was annoyed that Mr. Rowland was gone that morning, because she had given him her work shirt to launder, and had left her McDonalds visor in the back seat of his car. Their daughter was at Miss Howards mothers house, and they went to pick her up. . And it was two days after Samantha got into the wrong car - allegedly Rowland's vehicle - that she mistakenly thought was her Uber ride. [emailprotected]. Burial will follow at Perrineville Cemetery in the Perrineville section of Millstone in Monmouth County. Here is the recording of Marci as she spoke at the hearing; the story continues below the video: The Robbinsville family did it as they also planned a funeral that will be held on Wednesday at 12 p.m., with services at Congregation Beth Chaim at 329 Village Rd. They also wanted to let people know who Samantha was, a "bubbly, loving, kind" woman who was "full of life, a University of South Carolina senior who "had a plan. Josephson, who was a senior at the time of her death, had planned to graduate in 2019 and go on to study law at Drexel University School of Law. [6][7][8], The killing attracted national attention and led to discussion about the dangers of ridesharing and the importance of ensuring that a rideshare car is being driven by a registered driver prior to entering. [44] It requires ride-share vehicles to have front license plates and illuminated windshield signs along with scannable or quick-response codes on the sides. He had studied at East Clarendon School and played basketball, according to GreenVille Online. She asked him where he got it, and he said he had found it. 1534 Pennington Rd. Cell phone towers tracked both Josephsons and Mr. Rowlands phones, which traveled together for 20 minutes before her phone turned off at 2:33 a.m. Rowlands phone was traced to the Rosewood neighborhood of Columbia, where his sister lives. Samantha Josephson had just finished a night celebrating her impending college graduation when she made one fatal mistake. Samantha Josephson was born in 1998 (age 21 years; as in 2019 at the time of death) in Nevada, United States. Salant, Jonathan D. (December 23, 2022). The U.S. Sun reports authorities later found a knife, which possibly belonged to Rowland, covered in Samantha Josephson's blood. But he will spend the rest of his life behind bars after the jury found him guilty on three counts of murder, kidnapping and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. [2] Josephson, 21, had ordered an Uber and mistakenly entered a car that she thought was her ride. He said the woman who vanished from Columbia, S.C., on March 29, 2019, after getting into a car she'd mistaken for her Uber ride lost so much blood in the fatal attack, he had difficulty collecting a blood sample from her body. The image of Samantha fighting for her life has haunted her parents for the past 28 months. WLTX 7/26/2021. Are new stores coming to Quaker Bridge Mall in NJ? 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