Nathan Owens, a 34-year-old stepfather accused of murdering 19-year-old student Carla Georgescu, has been pictured for the first time after police bodycam footage of his arrest was shown to a court.
Owens allegedly strangled Carla in February after driving more than 100 miles overnight to her student accommodation in Preston, Lancashire.
Prosecutors allege that he acted out of “sexual jealousy” after discovering that the second-year clinical psychology student planned to meet a man with whom she had formed an online romantic relationship.
The trial heard that Owens had developed an “escalating fascination” with Carla, including allegedly having sex with a life-sized “effigy” of his teenage stepdaughter dressed in her nightdress.
CCTV showed Carla, dressed in a dressing gown and pyjamas, allowing Owens into Ribble Hall, her block of student flats at the University of Lancashire, at about 4am on February 4. His head was concealed beneath a blanket.
Around 90 minutes later, he was recorded leaving the building while using an umbrella and face mask to shield himself from cameras. He was wearing Carla’s trainers and carrying two bags.
Owens then drove back to his home in Hartlepool, allegedly stopping along the way to dispose of items. Bedding later recovered from the route was found to contain traces of Carla’s DNA.
His wife, Janina Georgescu, told jurors that Owens did not say he had visited her daughter when she woke later that morning.
She became concerned after Carla failed to answer her messages and calls. The following day, which would have been Carla’s 20th birthday, she contacted university security.
A welfare check was carried out, and Carla was found slumped against a wardrobe door with a belt around her neck.
Nathan Owens, 34, was arrested on suspicion of murdering his stepdaughter, Carla Georgescu, as shown in police bodycam footage played during his murder trial at Preston Crown Court
Carla Georgescu, a 19-year-old clinical psychology student at the University of Lancashire, was allegedly strangled and murdered by her stepfather, Nathan Owens
CCTV captured Carla Georgescu allowing her stepfather, Nathan Owens, into her university accommodation while he concealed his face from security cameras with a blanket
Owens was filmed leaving the building while shielding his face from cameras with an umbrella and mask, wearing Carla’s trainers and carrying two bags
Police officers who attended the couple’s home on February 5 told them, “It looks like she has hung herself,” jurors were told on Thursday.
Hours later, Owens allegedly searched online for information about how police investigate suspicious deaths before wiping data from his electronic devices.
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The court heard that other searches included “police misinformed us about the cause of death” and “accident or homicide”.
Later that evening, a local police officer returned to question Owens about his visit to Carla’s flat on the night she was last seen alive. The exchange was recorded on the officer’s body-worn camera.
Within 30 minutes, Owens had downloaded “eraser” software to his computer, the court heard. Multiple deletion events reportedly took place overnight, while his mobile phone was also subjected to a factory reset.
On the evening of February 6, Owens allegedly made further online searches, including “I think the police think I’m guilty” and “when police turn on their bodycam you are guilty”, jurors were told.
On February 1, Janina and Owens had a birthday dinner with Carla in Preston and she was left alone at one point with her stepfather where they are both seen preoccupied with their phones
Preston Crown Court was shown footage of Owens walking towards the block of student flats with a blanket over his head shortly before his stepdaughter was ‘murdered’
Carla’s body was found at her University of Lancashire accommodation, Ribble Hall in Preston, on February 5 after her mother raised the alarm
Another search queried whether ‘cops intentionally try to trick people into confessing to something’.
Footage played to his trial at Preston Crown Court shows the moment officers from Lancashire arrive at his house the following day to arrest him on suspicion of murder.
Owens looks impassive and nods as he is cautioned before being handcuffed and led away.
Before his arrest, Owens told his wife that he went to Preston that night because Carla had wanted him to bring her incontinence and help tidy her room.
But the prosecution say this was an attempt to ‘cover his tracks’ and ‘keep his wife onside’, and that the truth is that he brutally attacked Carla before fleeing the scene, dumping evidence and attempting to cover his tracks.
The prosecution allege he had become ‘sexually fixated’ with Carla and her death was the culmination of weeks, months and perhaps years of a ‘one-sided sexual obsession’.
He is also said to have taken photos of Carla without her knowledge, filmed himself having sex with her dolls and toys, and manipulated an innocent image of her so it appeared sexual.
Owens denies charges of murder, intentional strangulation and grievous bodily harm with intent.
The trial continues.
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