Expert: Slain Uber rider’s DNA found under suspect’s nails

COLUMBIA, S.C. — (AP) — A forensic scientist testified Friday that DNA found under the fingernails of the South Carolina man accused of killing a woman who mistook his car for her Uber ride is almost definitely the victim’s.

Prosecutors called several law enforcement experts to the witness stand at the end of the first week of trial for Nathaniel Rowland, who faces murder and kidnapping charges in the death of 21-year-old Samantha Josephson.

The University of South Carolina student from Robbinsville, New Jersey, disappeared from Columbia’s Five Points entertainment district one night in March 2019. Her body was later found in remote woods some 65 miles from Columbia. It was the spring before she was set to graduate and head to law school.

Her body had more than 100 wounds to the face, neck and other parts of the body — a death that turned a national spotlight on ride-hailing safety and led to some changes, including more prominent displays of driver license plates.

Prosecutors have argued that Rowland trapped Josephson in the back seat of his black Chevrolet Impala using the backseat childproof locks. Investigators said they subsequently found the victim’s blood and cellphone in Rowland’s vehicle.

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Ryan Dewane, a forensic scientist with the State Law Enforcement Division, said there was “very strong support” that DNA found under Rowland’s nails belonged to Josephson.

The victim’s DNA also was likely found on a sock and a bandanna belonging to Rowland, as well as on a bladed multitool alleged to be the murder weapon, Dewane told jurors.

Both Rowland and Josephson’s DNA were likely identified on gloves found in a trash can at the home of Rowland’s girlfriend at the time, Dewayne said.

Though Josephson’s fingernails also were swabbed, testing did not indicate Rowland’s DNA was present, the forensic scientist said. The tests did indicate DNA belonging to two male individuals under some of the victim’s fingernails.

Rowland’s attorneys have said that although Josephson appeared to fight back against her attacker, none of Rowland’s DNA was found on her body, and no visible marks were found on Rowland after his arrest.

SLED agent Eric Grabsky testified earlier Friday on cellphone data showing Rowland’s phone connected with cell towers in the Five Points area at the time of Josephson’s disappearance. The data showed Rowland’s phone then moved toward the area where Josephson’s body was eventually found.

Suspected murder weapon shown in mistaken Uber ride killing of USC student

An investigator showed jurors the suspected murder weapon Thursday at the trial of Rowland.

Prosecutors argued in court Tuesday that Rowland trapped Josephson in the vehicle hours before her body, riddled with stab wounds, was dumped near his family home.

The bladed multi-tool resembling a double-handled knife was exhibited on the fourth day of trial.

Her body had more than 100 wounds to the face, neck and other parts of the body .

As an investigator with the State Law Enforcement Division unwrapped the multi-tool from its packaging Thursday on the witness stand, relatives of the slain woman fidgeted and reached across aisles for one another, The State newspaper reported.

Dalila Jazic, the investigator, also showed clothes with apparent blood on them, saying they were found in a trash can at the home of Rowland’s girlfriend at the time. The former girlfriend has testified she noticed blood in Rowland’s car and watched him clean the multi-tool in the hours after Josephson’s disappearance.

On cross-examination by Rowland’s defense attorney, Jazic acknowledged that no scratches were found on Rowland’s arms or face when she photographed him after his arrest.

Rowland’s defense team has argued although Josephson appeared to fight back against her attacker, none of Rowland’s DNA was found on her body, and no visible marks were found on Rowland following his arrest.

Earlier Thursday, Todd Schenk, a crime scene expert with the State Law Enforcement Division, told jurors that Josephson was already dead when her body was left in the woods.

Prosecutors: Man killed USC student who mistook car for Uber

In opening arguments in Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia on Tuesday, prosecutors previewed evidence and testimony they said would implicate Rowland. That included surveillance camera footage of Josephson entering Rowland’s car as well as a witness who the prosecutors say allegedly watched Rowland clean the blade he used to repeatedly stab Josephson.

Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson said cameras in the entertainment district captured Rowland circling the block multiple times in his black Chevrolet Impala before pulling up to Josephson, who was waiting alone. Josephson got into the car, and it was the last time she was seen alive, the prosecutor said.

“As she stood there waiting for that Uber, he had his eyes firmly transfixed on her,” Gipson said.

Once inside, Josephson was trapped because Rowland had turned on the backseat child locks so the doors could only be opened from the outside, prosecutors said.

Josephson’s death drew national attention to safety concerns about ride-hailing services and prompted some changes. South Carolina lawmakers enacted a measure that requires drivers to make license plate numbers visible in the front of their vehicles and creates criminal penalties for people who impersonate ride-hailing drivers.

Rowland, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, has been in the Richland County jail since his arrest a day after Josephson’s disappearance. He could face up to life in prison if convicted of murder.

Gipson said more than 100 stab wounds, cuts and other abrasions were found on Josephson’s body.

It was clear Josephson fought back, “kicking and punching and clawing the person attacking her,” said Alicia Goode, one of Rowland’s public defenders.

Goode noted that investigators had amassed a large amount of evidence in the days after the crime, including swabbing Josephson’s body and Rowland’s car.

Yet none of the DNA evidence gathered from the victim matches Rowland, Goode said.

“Zero: that’s the amount of DNA on Samantha Josephson’s body that matches Nathaniel’s,” Goode said. “Zero. It’s not on her clothing, not under her ripped and torn fingernails, it’s not on her ankles.”

Gipson said investigators tracking both Josephson’s and Rowland’s phones found the the two traveling together through parts of Columbia for about 20 minutes before Josephson’s phone “mysteriously powered off.”

Rowland’s phone continued to ping all the way to the small community of New Zion, South Carolina — the location of both Rowland’s hometown and the woods where Josephson’s body was dumped a short distance from Rowland’s family home, the prosecutor pointed out.

Gipson also said there were witnesses who found Rowland’s bloody clothes in a dumpster and saw Rowland cleaning the “peculiar looking knife blade tool” that prosecutors said had served as the murder weapon.

Gipson, who didn’t address any potential motives for the crime, discussed video evidence showing Rowland attempting to use the victim’s debit card and trying to sell her cellphone. Investigators later found Josephson’s blood and cellphone in Rowland’s car, along with bleach, window cleaner and cleaning wipes.

Witnesses began testimony in front of jurors Tuesday afternoon.

(WATCH BELOW: SC student’s death leads to bill requiring Uber, Lyft signs)