Samantha Josephson Photo via Columbia Police Department)
We have sad news to report from South Carolina, where a would-be law student was abducted and killed after mistaking another man’s car for her Uber ride.
Samantha Josephson, 21, was expected to graduate from the University of South Carolina this spring and attend the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law next fall as a first-year law student. At about 2 a.m. on Friday, Josephson hailed an Uber before leaving a bar, but got into Nathaniel D. Rowland’s car instead. Rowland allegedly turned on the child-safety locks in his car to prevent Josephson from escaping when she realized her mistake.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer has the grotesque details on what happened next:
She never came home, and concerned friends reported Josephson missing Friday afternoon, [Columbia Police Chief William “Skip”] Holbrook said. Several hours later, two people out turkey hunting in Clarendon County — at least 65 miles from Columbia — discovered Josephson’s body in a rural wooded area off a dirt road, the police chief said.
Holbrook said that about 3 a.m. Saturday in Columbia, an officer spotted Rowland’s black Chevy Impala being driven around near the Five Points area where he allegedly picked up Josephson the night before.
When the officer pulled over the car, Holbrook said, Rowland got out of the car and ran away. Holbrook said that Rowland was ultimately chased down, and that officers later found what the police chief described as a large amount of blood in Rowland’s car, as well as bleach, other cleaning supplies, and Josephson’s cellphone. Holbrook said tests later confirmed that the blood in the car was Josephson’s.
Josephson’s body was later found in an area near where Rowland lived previously. Rowland has since been charged with kidnapping and murder.
We here at Above the Law would like to extend our condolences to Samantha Josephson’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.
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South Carolina man charged with kidnapping, killing N.J. woman bound for Drexel law school [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.