Man convicted of murdering his stepdaughter in Preston

A man has today been found guilty of murdering his stepdaughter at her student accommodation in Preston.

Carla Georgescu was found dead in her student accommodation on her 20th birthday, after the defendant Nathan Owens had travelled from Hartlepool the night before to kill her.

Carla had her whole life ahead of her. She was described by a professional as ‘intelligent, gentle and articulate’. She was a student in Preston, studying Clinical Psychology at undergraduate, with plans for the future to take post-graduate studies in Romania. Carla had friends, in fact, she was meant to travel to Romania the day after she was found, with her friend to meet her boyfriend the first time.

Owens took all of that away from her.

The weekend before she was killed, Carla’s mum came to Preston to stay with her – they shopped together, went out for dinner and stayed in Carla’s halls. On the Sunday, Owens travelled from their home in Hartlepool to meet them and they went out for dinner to celebrate Carla’s upcoming birthday.

Unbeknownst to Carla or her mum, Owens had harboured a sexual obsession with her. He had doctored childhood photographs of her to make them indecent images, he had photographed her without her knowledge in their house, and he had filmed himself carrying out sexual acts, on occasion in Carla’s bedroom, and with an effigy.

At around 9pm on 1st February, Carla and her mum said goodbye. Neither of them knew that this would be the last time they saw each other.

In the early hours of 4th November, Owens travelled again to Preston. He didn’t tell Carla’s mum that he was leaving, or where he was going. She had gone to sleep thinking her daughter was safe.

Owens messaged Carla, pretending that he and her mum were coming to pick up a purse her mum had left behind – that was a lie.

Two and a half hours later, he parked in a side street, rather than his usual parking space at the halls of residence. He then covered his head with a blanket, and was let in to the halls by Carla, who still thought he was coming to pick up her mum’s purse.

The CCTV of Carla letting Owens in was the last time she was seen alive.

Owens followed Carla to her room where he subjected her to a violent and sexual assault and killed her. He then staged the scene to look like Carla had taken her own life.

When officers attended the scene, this was the initial thought, but they quickly became concerned about something untoward at the scene, and further enquiries were conducted.

After killing Carla, Owens left her halls taking a different route, covering his face with a facemask, carrying bags filled with evidence and using Carla’s umbrella and wearing her shoes.

He returned home as though nothing had happened, disposing of the evidence on his route.

Officers attended Owens’ home to inform him and Carla’s mum of her death, and again on our behalf to ask Owens why he had been caught on CCTV at 4am in Carla’s halls. He lied to those officers saying he was there to pick his wife up after she had been visiting. She couldn’t catch him out in his lies as she was asleep upstairs at the time.

Owens was clearly worried he was going to be found out, as he began to make internet searches after the officers left, including ‘i think the police think im guilty’.

Detectives soon returned to Owens’ address and arrested him on suspicion of Carla’s murder.

Owens was brought to custody, where he was interviewed. During those interviews all he said was a fleeting denial that he had anything to do with her death and had caused her no injury.

Following a consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Owens, 34, of no fixed abode, formerly of Hartlepool, was charged with murder, assault causing grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation. He was later charged with two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and taking an indecent photograph of a child. Carla is the victim of all of these charges.

Owens pleaded not guilty to the murder, meaning that the evidence of his crimes, and of Carla’s final moments were played out in court. He chose not to give evidence in the trial, offering no explanation for his actions. Today, after hearing all of the evidence, and deliberating for just over three hours, a jury convicted him of Carla’s murder. He previously admitted to the counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.

He will appear back in the dock tomorrow (23rd October) to be sentenced.

DI Pete Macdonald, of the Force Major Investigation Team 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. He has now been brought to justice for his crimes.

“I thank the jury for returning a guilty verdict, as well as the prosecution counsel, Nicholas Lumley K.C, Adam Birkby, Barrister, my investigation team and the Crown Prosecution Service for all of their efforts to obtain justice for Carla.

“No verdict brings Carla back, but I hope that her mum and the rest of her loved ones can feel some sense of justice that the man responsible for taking her future away has been brought to justice.”