The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) released the cause of death and autopsy results for Samantha Josephson, a University of South Carolina student allegedly killed by 24-year-old Nathaniel Rowland, after getting into his car early Friday morning.
NBC 10 reports that 21-year-old Josephson had “numerous wounds evident on multiple parts of her body to include her head, neck, face, upper body, leg, and foot.” She died after sustaining “multiple sharp force injuries.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, security footage showed Josephson getting into a black Chevrolet Impala that pulled up to the Bird Dog bar parking lot in Columbia on Friday at around 2 a.m. Josephson was waiting on an Uber rider, according to police, and probably mistook the Impala driver as the Uber driver.
The bartender at Bird Dog reportedly told police that the real Uber driver canceled the ride after Josephson failed to show up for pick-up.
“She had, in fact, summoned an Uber ride. She was waiting for that Uber ride to come, we believe. She simply mistakenly got into this car thinking it was an Uber ride,” Columbia Police Department Chief Skip Holbrook said during the news conference, according to NBC 10.
The following day, friends became worried after Josephson failed to return calls and texts. They contacted police at around 1:30 p.m. Friday, sparking a massive hunt for the college student.
At around 4:30 p.m. Friday, turkey hunters stumbled across the victim’s body in Clarendon County, around 70 miles from the bar she disappeared from. She was lying around 40 feet off of a dirt road in a secluded, rural area.
On Saturday, officers spotted a black Chevy Impala that matched the vehicle seen on security footage. Police pulled the driver over a few blocks from Five Points in Columbia. The driver, identified as Rowland, got out of the car and tried to flee by foot before officers captured him.
Inside the car, officers found blood, bleach, wipes, and Josephson’s cellphone. They noted the car had the child safety locks activated, meaning Josephson wouldn’t have been able to get out.
Rowland was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder. He was also charged with drug possession and failure to stop on police command.
Josephson, a political science major at USC, had plans to become a lawyer.
Authorities are still investigating the case. Anyone with additional information should contact the Columbia Police Department.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Featured Photo: Samantha Josephson/Columbia Police Department]
