Stepfather Jailed for Life for Murdering Student Daughter After Luring Her With Lies

A "depraved" stepfather has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter, Carla Georgescu, after luring her into a deadly trap with a series of callous lies. Nathan Owens, 34, was found guilty by a jury that deliberated for just over three hours.

Owens is set to be jailed for life after being convicted of murdering Georgescu at her university accommodation in Preston, Lancashire, on February 4. The jury convicted him of murder and grievous bodily harm with intent. He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of Carla.

Consumed by sexual obsession and jealousy, Owens drove through the night to Georgescu's university rooms. He duped her into letting him in by falsely claiming he needed to retrieve a purse that her mother had supposedly left behind during an earlier family meal. Messages recovered by police reveal Owens told Georgescu that "we" were on their way, when in reality his wife, Janina, was asleep at home and unaware of his intentions.

Despite remaining silent throughout his trial, irrefutable evidence presented to the court showed that after gaining entry, Owens subjected Georgescu to a brutal sexual assault before strangling her. He then staged the scene to make it appear as though she had taken her own life. Owens subsequently drove the 100 miles back to his home in Hartlepool, disposing of evidence, including Georgescu's mobile phone and bloodied bedding, along the route.

When Georgescu's body was discovered, police initially suspected suicide. However, their suspicions were raised by CCTV footage showing Owens arriving at her accommodation alone that night with a blanket covering his head. As the investigation intensified, Owens searched online for phrases like "I think the police think I'm guilty" and began deleting his electronic devices.

Detectives were able to trace Owens' movements and identify where he had stopped to discard evidence thanks to telematics information downloaded from his car. This led to the recovery of Georgescu's phone, which contained messages detailing Owens' deceitful plan. At 1:27 a.m. on February 4, Owens messaged Georgescu asking if she was awake. Upon receiving a reply, he falsely stated that her mother had forgotten her wallet and that they would arrive to collect it between 3:45 and 4:00 a.m.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lumley KC told the trial that Owens' motivation was to satisfy his sexual needs and that this was his "last chance to catch her before she went to Romania." Georgescu was scheduled to fly to her native Romania the following day to meet a boyfriend she had met online.

Carla Georgescu, a second-year clinical psychology student at the University of Lancashire, let Owens into her accommodation around 4:00 a.m., as captured by CCTV. Owens, whose head was obscured by a blanket, was wearing her trainers and carrying two bags when he was filmed leaving the building approximately 90 minutes later. He appeared to be shielding himself from cameras with an umbrella and a face mask.

Upon returning home, Owens made no mention of seeing Georgescu to his wife, who later recalled him seeming "his normal self." In a final act of deception, Owens deleted Georgescu's last message to her mother from his wife's phone to prevent any suspicion. The following day, February 5, which would have been Georgescu's 20th birthday, her mother became concerned when she could not reach her daughter. She contacted university security, leading to the discovery of her body.

Police initially informed the couple that Georgescu's death was being treated as a suicide. However, Owens' subsequent online searches and attempts to wipe his devices raised further red flags. He provided his wife with a false account of his movements that night, claiming he had gone to Preston with her to help Georgescu tidy her room and deliver incontinence pants. When questioned by police, Owens falsely stated that he and his wife had visited Georgescu together, an assertion his wife, who was asleep at the time, could not verify.

Detectives later arrested Owens on suspicion of murder. The trial revealed that Owens had become "sexually fixated" with his stepdaughter, secretly taking pictures of her in her underwear and engaging in sexual acts with a life-sized effigy of her.

Owens smirked as the jury delivered its guilty verdict. He will be sentenced on Friday.