Killer lured stepdaughter into Preston student flat before murdering her
Nathan Owens, 34, was convicted of murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter, Carla Georgescu, after luring her into letting him into her university accommodation in Preston. Prosecutors said he was driven by sexual obsession and jealousy, and sought to reach her before she travelled to Romania; he is due to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Messages recovered by police showed Owens claimed he and Carla’s mother were coming to collect a forgotten purse, though his wife was asleep at home. CCTV showed him entering alone and leaving about an hour and a half later, shielding his face and wearing Carla’s trainers. Investigators said he sexually assaulted and strangled her, staged the scene to look like suicide, then drove about 100 miles to Hartlepool, discarding evidence; telematics helped police recover her phone.
In short
- Nathan Owens was convicted of murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter.
- He used a false story about a forgotten purse to gain entry.
- Vehicle data helped police trace discarded evidence and recover her phone.
Explained simply
Carla Georgescu was a 19-year-old university student living in accommodation in Preston. Nathan Owens was her stepfather, married to her mother; the case concerns the abuse of that family relationship to gain access to Carla.
The prosecution said Owens was sexually obsessed with Carla and jealous, and that he wanted to reach her before she travelled to Romania. Police used messages, CCTV and vehicle data to piece together what happened and trace evidence. The case matters because it involved the killing of a young student by a close family member, and raised questions about how investigators established the circumstances of her death.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “‘We will be 20 minutes’: Callous lies of ‘depraved’ killer to lure his student stepdaughter into deadly trap laid bare”.