Nathaniel Rowland – Mistaken Rideshare murder of Samantha Josephson | Trial Documentary

Samantha’s boyfriend had reported her missing after she had failed to read or respond to texts and snapchats from the early am hours of March 29th, 2019. He was suspicious due to this being completely out of character, and his suspicion escalated as he also tracked her phone leaving the bar in the wrong direction.

Samantha was out with friends in the Five Points area of Columbia that night, calling an Uber ride and leaving the Bird Dog bar at about 2am.

CCTV footage showed her entering a black Chevrolet Impala at 2:09am, which departed with Samantha inside. The footage showed only the front of the vehicle, so the license plate was not able to be identified as only rear license plates have been required in South Carolina since 1975. Samantha’s designated Uber ride had reported Samantha as a no-show and cancelled the ride.

A dead body was found by turkey hunters dumped in a field in New Zion, South Carolina at approximately 4pm on the 29th of March, 2019. The body was covered in more than 100 lacerations and obviously a victim of homicide.

The body was later identified as Samantha Josephson, a 21 year old political science student at the University of South Carolina, and the search for her murderer began.

The police were on the lookout for a car that matched the description of the one Samantha was seen entering in the CCTV footage. After following a black Chevy Impala on March 30th, 2019, the car turned into a one-way street the wrong way and was pulled over by police. The occupant of the vehicle fled and managed to get away from the police, but was identified through the car registration as Nathaniel Rowland.

Police searched Nathaniel’s abandoned Chevy Impala, and found a container of liquid bleach, germicidal wipes, window cleaner, and a large amount of blood on the back seat. A cell phone was also discovered, which was later identified as belonging to Samantha Josephson.

Investigators were led to Nathaniel’s girlfriend’s residence, where they discovered cleaning supplies and a bloodied two-bladed knife in a trash can out the back. The blood on the knife was later identified as belonging to Samantha Josephson.

Nathaniel Rowland was caught and arrested on the same day, March 20th, 2019.

He was charged with kidnapping, murder, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in April 2019.

The trial was conducted in July 2021. Nathaniel Rowland was found guilty of all charges after a very short jury deliberation, and sentenced to life imprisonment on July 28th, 2021.