A jury convicted a man of murdering a South Carolina college student who mistook him for her Uber driver during a night out two years ago and a judge sentenced him to life in prison moments later.
Nathaniel David Rowland was found guilty of murdering and kidnapping Samantha Josephson, as well as being in possession of a weapon during a violent crime on Tuesday. The jury returned with a unanimous verdict after two hours of deliberations, according to NBC affiliate WIS.
Sentencing was decided upon by Circuit Judge Clifton Newman immediately after Rowland’s conviction on Tuesday.
“For whoever asked me for leniency, that’s not part of my DNA,” Newton said. He sentenced Rowland to life in prison.
Rowland was allowed to speak during the sentencing proceeding where he maintained his innocence.
“But I guess what I know and what I think really doesn’t matter,” Rowland said. “I just wish the state would have done more finding out who the actual person was instead of detaining me and proving my guilt.”
Newton characterized Rowland as being “heartless” and called it the “most severe” murder he’s seen in court before. The judge added that all roads of evidence pointed to Rowland and that he was satisfied with the prosecution presentation in court.
“There’s a thousand trails each that led to you,” Newton said. “All of the evidence, each speck of the evidence — not simply beyond a reasonable doubt, but as the highest standard the law requires — all points to your guilt.”
Josephson, 21, was out with friends in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2019 when she mistakenly entered the wrong car and went missing. Her roommates, who were out with her that night but got separated, filed a missing person’s report with Columbia police after they were unable to reach her the next afternoon.
She was found dead by two hunters in a wooded area off a dirt road in Clarendon County, about 65 miles away from Columbia, with wounds to her head, neck, face, upper body, leg and foot.
A native of New Jersey, Josephson was only months shy of graduating with a degree in political science from the University of South Carolina and planned to continue her education by attending law school.
Prosecutors argued in trial last week that Rowland “had his eyes firmly fixed on Samantha Josephson” as she left the Bird Dog Lounge alone to order her Uber home.
Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson told jurors that they would be shown security video, cellphone tracking data, the murder weapon and other incriminating evidence that would lead to a finding of guilty.
“It’s those intentional, deliberate, heinous, cruel and malicious acts that Nathaniel David Rowland has been indicted for kidnapping Samantha Josephson,” Gipson said.
April 1, 201901:16
Josephson’s blood and cellphone were found in Rowland’s vehicle, a black Chevrolet Impala, officials said. Investigators believe that after she mistakenly entered the car, Josephson was unable to escape because Rowland’s child-safety locks were activated.
Rowland’s defense attorney, Tracy Pinnock, argued that crime-scene investigators didn’t find any DNA evidence linking Rowland to the slaying.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to hear this number again, and that is zero,” Pinnock said. “That’s the amount of DNA on Samantha Josephson’s body that matches Nathaniel Rowland. Zero. It’s not on her clothing. It’s not under her ripped and torn fingernails. It’s not on her ankles.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
