Appeal denied for man who murdered USC student who mistook his car for an Uber
COLUMBIA, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A judge has denied an appeal for the man who killed a University of South Carolina student after she thought she was getting into her Uber.
Samantha Josephson was a senior at USC in 2019. In March of that year, she called for an uber around 2 a.m. after a night out with friends in Five Points and never returned home the next morning.
After a days-long search, officials found Josephson’s body in another part of the state. She had been stabbed 120 times.
Officials learned that Josephson got into a car that was driven by Nathaniel David Rowland because she thought he was her uber driver. He turned on the childproof locks in his car, preventing her from escaping.
Rowland was caught after a traffic stop when an officer spotted his car that matched a suspect description.
In July of 2021, Rowland was found guilty of murder, kidnapping and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Rowland filed an appeal on Aug. 21, 2024 and claimed the state shouldn’t have been allowed to use evidence from the traffic stop because the officer did not have probably cause to stop him.
The court of appeals ruled an officer has the right to stop a driver if there is suspicion of criminal activity.
The court also ruled that even if there was an error in itting some of the evidence, it wouldn’t have mattered considering all other evidence proving Rowland committed the crime.
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