Stepdad guilty of murdering student Carla Georgescu on her birthday
Lancashire Police
This article contains distressing details
A man who was “sexually obsessed” with his stepdaughter has been found guilty of murdering her at her university flat on her 20th birthday
Nathan Owens, 34, from Hartlepool, killed Carla Georgescu in her room at her halls of residence in Preston in February and then staged the scene to make it look like she had taken her own life
The trial at Preston Crown Court previously heard Owens had secretly taken photographs of Carla and superimposed her face on to naked pornographic images of women
Carla’s body was found in her room at Ribble Hall on 5 February
The trial saw CCTV footage of Owens having a meal with Carla and her mother in the days before she died and him going to her flat in the early hours of 4 February wrapped in a blanket
Carla let him into the building at about 04:00 GMT after he lied about picking something up and he left an hour-and-a-half later, the court heard
Lancashire Police
That CCTV footage of Carla letting Owens in was the last time she was seen alive, Lancashire Police said
The force said Owens followed Carla to her room and subjected her to a “violent and sexual assault” before killing her
He then tried to make it look like she had taken her own life
After killing his stepdaughter, Owens left her halls taking a different route, covering his face with a mask, carrying bags filled with evidence and using Carla’s umbrella and wearing her shoes
He returned home as though nothing had happened, disposing of evidence on the way, police said
Neither the red pyjama bottoms Carla was wearing when she went to the door nor the teenager’s grey trainers which Owens was seen in when he left the flat have been found
Lancashire Police
Her laptop was disconnected from her home’s WiFi at 05:19 and has also never been recovered
Several items from Carla’s room, including a bed sheet, sex toy and socks were found dumped beside a main road near Tebay in Cumbria
Detectives found hundreds of pictures of Carla on Owens’ laptop, including many which had been sexualised
Owens had also taken a selfie of himself wearing Carla’s nightie and filmed himself having intercourse with an effigy adorned with her clothes, the trial heard
His DNA was found on the floor and blanket in Carla’s room as well as on swabs taken from her body, the court previously heard
Duringpolice interviews, Owens denied he had anything to do with her death and had caused her no injury, but he had previously made internet searches including “I think the police think I’m guilty”, police said
Det Insp Pete Macdonald said: “Carla was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her, a life that was taken away by someone she should have been able to trust
“Owens had a despicable, perverted sexual obsession with his stepdaughter, an obsession that ended with him killing her.”
On Monday, Owens said he would not be taking to the witness box or offering any other testimony
Owens, who denied murder, but previously admitted two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child, was convicted by the jury after three hours of deliberation
He will be sentenced on Friday
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Source: www.bbc.com
