Appeal denied for man convicted of murdering SC college student

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A court upheld the conviction of a man who murdered a South Carolina college student three years ago.

Nathaniel Rowland was convicted in July 2021 of murdering University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson. The 21-year-old from New Jersey disappeared from Columbia’s Five Points entertainment district in March 2019.

PREVIOUS STORIES:

• SC man gets life for killing USC student who mistook his car for Uber
• ‘Our friend is missing’: 911 call released months after USC student’s ride-share death
• Chief: Ride-share mistake led to death of University of South Carolina student
• Warrants: Slain University of South Carolina student suffered numerous wounds
• Man charged with murder after University of South Carolina student mistakes his vehicle for Uber

On March 28, 2019, Josephson got into Rowland’s car thinking it was an Uber ride that would take her back to her apartment, prosecutors said. Instead, she found herself trapped because Rowland had the childproof locks on, investigators said.

She was never again seen alive. Covered in roughly 120 stab wounds, her body was later found in remote woods about 65 miles from Columbia.

The death cast a national spotlight on ride-hailing safety and led to some changes, including more prominent displays of driver’s license plates.

Rowland was sentenced to life in prison.

The South Carolina Court of Appeals heard an appeal from Rowland and his lawyers back in May and handed down their opinion on Wednesday. Rowland appealed his sentences for murder, kidnapping, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He argued the trial court erred by doing the following:

1. Denying Rowland’s motion to suppress evidence due to his belief there was no probable cause for a traffic stop.
2. Allowing testimony that it was “probable” the handwriting found on an envelope in Rowland’s car marched Rowland’s personnel records at previous jobs.
3. Admitting testimony that said Rowland’s DNA was part of a mixture of DNA found on different pieces of evidence.

In their opinion, the appeals court said officers can stop a car and detain its occupants briefly even without probable cause to arrest. They said in this case, the officer stopped Rowland because his car matched the description of the car Josephson was seen getting into before she was reported missing.

The court said the testimony from the documents examiner about the handwriting was relevant to the case and therefore admissible.

For the last point, the court ruled that even if there was an error in admitting some of the testimony, the appellant only had an issue with three out of more than 100 items tested for DNA. Any error would be harmless when seen in the context of all the evidence against Rowland.

“Based on the foregoing, the decision of the trial court is AFFIRMED,” the ruling concludes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(WATCH PREVIOUS: Trial starts for man accused in Uber rider’s kidnapping, murder)

Trial starts for man accused in Uber rider’s kidnapping, murder

©2024 Cox Media Group