A murder trial has heard how a stepfather accused of killing his 19-year-old stepdaughter allegedly had sex with a life-sized effigy of her dressed in her nightdress. Nathan Owens, 34, is accused of murdering Carla Georgescu at her university accommodation in Preston after allegedly developing a dangerous sexual obsession with her.
Alleged beach walk while body undiscovered
Prosecutors allege Owens drove through the night from the family home in Hartlepool to Carla's accommodation at Ribble Hall on February 4. He allegedly arrived at around 4am and left approximately 90 minutes later. Carla, a second-year clinical psychology student at the University of Lancashire, was found dead in her room the following day, on what would have been her 20th birthday.
At Preston Crown Court, jurors have heard allegations about an escalating fascination with Carla in the weeks and months before her death. Prosecutors allege Owens collected images of his stepdaughter, including photographs taken without her knowledge, and manipulated some images to make them appear sexual.
Alleged sexual fixation and killing
He is also alleged to have filmed himself engaging in sexual acts with Carla's dolls and toys, including a life-sized effigy that he had dressed in her nightdress. The prosecution claims Owens' behaviour formed part of an escalating sexual fixation with Carla. The court heard that prosecutors believe sexual jealousy may have played a role in the alleged killing after Owens discovered Carla was preparing to meet a man she had met online.
It is alleged that after driving from Hartlepool to Preston in the early hours of February 4, Owens attacked Carla with a knife and strangled her before discarding her phone, laptop, bedding and sexual items in the countryside as he returned home before dawn. Owens denies the charge, as well as charges of strangulation and GBH, Lancs Live reports.
Mother's testimony and discovery
On the morning after the alleged attack, Carla's mother, Janina Georgescu, said Owens appeared to be behaving normally. Giving evidence, Mrs Georgescu said she spoke to her husband at their home but he did not tell her he had travelled to Preston during the night. Asked how he appeared, she told the court: "Like always, his normal self." Later that day, the couple went for their regular walk along a nearby beach before going shopping at Asda.
Mrs Georgescu said there was nothing unusual about Owens during the day. However, when Carla failed to respond to her calls and messages, she became increasingly concerned. The following day, she contacted university security, who arranged a welfare check with police. Officers later went to the family home and told Mrs Georgescu that her daughter had been found dead.
She described being left "shaking", while Owens allegedly cried and comforted her. It was only after Mrs Georgescu contacted the hospital mortuary and learned more about Carla's death that Owens told her he had been at his stepdaughter's accommodation in the early hours of the previous morning. He allegedly claimed Carla had asked him to bring her incontinence pants and help tidy her room. Prosecutors say the explanation was an attempt to cover his tracks and keep his wife onside.
Background and charges
Mrs Georgescu told the court that Owens' admission left her with "mixed emotions" and feeling agitated. The jury has also heard that Carla had appeared happy and excited in the days before her death. She had been planning to travel to Romania later that month to meet Dan, a man she had developed a romantic relationship with online. In a statement read to the court, Dan described Carla as down-to-earth and said he liked her sense of humour.
The pair had spoken online just hours before Owens allegedly arrived at her accommodation. Dan said Carla had not indicated that she was considering taking her own life. Friends similarly described her as positive, while a university counsellor was said to have been satisfied that she had no plans to harm herself. The court previously heard that Carla was found slumped against a wardrobe door with a belt around her neck. A post-mortem examination reportedly found two significant head injuries, wounds to her cheek consistent with a sharp object and cuts and bruising around her mouth and nose. Owens pleads innocent to charges of murder, intentional strangulation and grievous bodily harm with intent.
