Stepfather Convicted of Murdering Student Stepdaughter After Luring Her With False Story

Jobless Nathan Owens, 34, is set to be jailed for life after a jury convicted him of murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter, Carla Georgescu, at her university accommodation in Preston, Lancashire.

Owens lured Georgescu into a trap on February 4 with a fabricated story that he and her mother needed to retrieve a forgotten purse. Messages recovered by police reveal Owens told Georgescu, "we" would arrive, when in reality his wife was asleep at their home. The jury deliberated for just over three hours before finding Owens guilty of murder.

Prosecutors stated Owens, driven by sexual obsession and jealousy, traveled through the night to Georgescu's student housing. After duping her into letting him inside, he subjected her to a sexual assault before strangling her. He then attempted to stage the scene to appear as a suicide. Owens drove approximately 100 miles back to his home in Hartlepool, disposing of evidence, including Georgescu's mobile phone and bloody bedding, along the way.

Initially, police treated Georgescu's death as a possible suicide after her body was discovered on February 5, which would have been her 20th birthday. However, suspicions arose when footage showed Owens arriving at her accommodation alone the night before, with his head covered by a blanket. As police investigations intensified, Owens searched online for information about police investigations into suspicious deaths and began deleting his electronic devices.

Detectives used telematics data from Owens' vehicle to identify locations where he had discarded evidence. They recovered Georgescu's phone, which contained messages revealing the fabricated plan. At 1:27 a.m. on February 4, Owens messaged Georgescu asking if she was awake, and when she replied affirmatively, he falsely claimed her mother had forgotten her wallet and that they would arrive around 3:45 to 4 a.m. to collect it.

Owens' motivation, according to prosecutor Nicholas Lumley KC, was to satisfy his sexual needs before Georgescu departed for Romania the following day to meet a boyfriend. Georgescu responded to his messages, asking for a description of the wallet to maintain the pretense. At 3:35 a.m., Owens sent a follow-up message stating, "We will be 20 minutes," a lie as her mother remained asleep.

Chillingly, Owens had sent his wife a message at 0:56 a.m. stating, "I love you more than anything," which police suspect was an attempt to ensure she remained asleep. Georgescu sent a message to her mother in Romanian at 2:19 a.m. asking where the wallet was, which went unanswered.

Owens arrived shortly before 4 a.m., parking in a side street rather than a designated space. CCTV footage captured Georgescu, a second-year clinical psychology student at the University of Lancashire, letting him into her accommodation. Owens' face was briefly visible as he entered, despite his attempt to conceal his head with a blanket.

Prosecutors suggested Owens may have fabricated a story about his wife being asleep in the car to explain her absence. Approximately an hour and a half later, Owens was filmed leaving the building, using an umbrella and face mask to obscure himself from cameras. He was wearing Georgescu's trainers and carrying two bags, suggesting the bloody scene that had unfolded.

Upon his return home around 8:30 a.m., Owens made no mention of seeing Georgescu to his wife, appearing "his normal self." However, police confirmed Owens deleted Georgescu's final message to her mother from her phone to prevent her from becoming suspicious. His wife later testified that they went for a walk and shopping at an Asda store while Georgescu's body remained undiscovered.

When Georgescu's mother became concerned by her lack of response and contacted university security, her body was found. Owens was arrested on suspicion of murder. The trial revealed Owens had developed a sexual fixation with Georgescu, secretly taking pictures of her and engaging in sexual acts with an effigy of her. Owens also pleaded guilty to making indecent images of Georgescu using doctored childhood photos. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.