Warrants say missing USC student had wounds all over her body when found dead in Clarendon County

Autopsy results show cause of death due to multiple sharp force injuries

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Arrest warrants detail the kidnapping and killing of a 21-year-old University of South Carolina student whose body was found Friday afternoon on a rural road in Clarendon County after she mistook a vehicle for her rideshare.

Nathaniel David Rowland, 24, was detained early Saturday in Columbia and charged with kidnapping and murder. Blood and the cellphone of Samantha Josephson, who was in her senior year and was from Robbinsville, New Jersey, were found in Rowland’s vehicle.

According to the warrants, Josephson approached Rowland’s black four-door Chevrolet Impala early Friday morning in front of The Bird Dog bar on Harden Street in Columbia. Later that day, her body was found “with numerous wounds evident on multiple parts of her body to include her head, neck, face, upper body, leg and foot.”

The warrants do not state what, if any, weapon was used. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division released the cause of death Monday afternoon as death due to multiple sharp force injuries.

SLED released the autopsy results on behalf of Clarendon County Coroner Bucky Mock and said the City of Columbia Police Department, the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office and SLED are continuing to investigate the case.

When Columbia police pulled Rowland over for an unrelated traffic stop on Saturday, “a large amount of dark-colored liquid was visible throughout the subject vehicle’s passenger compartment." More blood was found in the trunk, all of which SLED matched to her DNA.

Officers also found Josephson’s cell phone in his car along with a container of liquid bleach, germicidal wipes and window cleaner.

The vehicle’s child safety and window locks had been activated and “would not thereby allow the victim any means of escape.”

Josephson’s body was located “near an area where the defendant recently resided.” Rowland graduated from East Clarendon High School.

Police have said the USC student had called and was waiting for an Uber ride from the bar and had likely mistakenly got into Rowland’s car assuming it was her ride.

A pair of area turkey hunters discovered her body on Black Bottom Road in New Zion, just hours after police had been notified by her friends that she was missing since she left the bar and wasn’t answering her cell phone.

When Rowland was pulled over, he had returned to the Five Points area about 3 a.m. on Saturday.

Friends and family of Josephson said she was ready to head to law school and that she was a ball of energy who brightened every room, according to The Associated Press.

"Samantha was by herself. She had absolutely no chance. None. The door was locked, the child safety locks were on. She had absolutely no chance," her father said Sunday night at a candlelight vigil in Columbia.

Safety advocates said ride sharing services will send a description of the vehicle, its license tag number and a photo of the driver and recommend passengers check the information before getting inside. They also suggest requiring the driver give the name of the person requesting the ride as an extra level of safety.

Seymour Josephson told his daughter's friends they can help by always taking rides or walking around town in groups of two or more because there is safety in numbers.

"If there is somebody else in that car, there is actually a chance," said Josephson, who plans to speak to ride sharing services about better identifying their vehicles.

Rowland remains in the Richland County jail at least until his bond hearing, a date for which has not been set. It has not been released yet whether he has a lawyer.

Josephson's boyfriend, Greg Corbishley said he saw a clear future with her and remembered their last conversation Thursday when she thanked him for letting her just be herself, AP reported.

"Even in the short time she was here, how many people she positively impacted with her energy," Corbishley said.

Josephson's parents said they had planned to come to Columbia on Saturday to see their daughter in the city and the university she loved one last time before she graduated in May and moved on to law school at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

They still came, but while her father went to the candlelight vigil, her mother was at the Richland County jail for a hearing scheduled for the man charged with killing her daughter, AP reported.

Rowland decided not to appear, but a judge gave Marci Josephson a chance to talk. She called Rowland evil and remembered her daughter as "bubbly, loving, kind, and full of life."

"Unlike him, Samantha valued human life, and could never harm another soul," Marci Josephson said. "Unlike him, Samantha had love within her heart, and a purpose in her life, the life he brutally ended."