The first image has emerged of a stepfather accused of murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter after allegedly developing a sexual obsession with her. Nathan Owens, 34, denies murdering Carla Georgescu, who was found dead at her student accommodation in Preston in February this year.
Prosecution alleges attack and strangulation
Prosecutors allege Owens attacked the teenager with a sharp object and strangled her after visiting her halls of residence in the early hours of February 4. Carla was discovered suspended from a wardrobe by a belt the following day after her mother became concerned when she could not get in touch with her and contacted campus security. It would have been Carla's 20th birthday.
Preston Crown Court heard Owens had arrived at her accommodation at around 4.30am on February 4 and was the last person known to have seen her alive, according to the prosecution. He did not reveal that he had visited his stepdaughter until two days after her death.
Alleged obsession and laptop evidence
According to LancsLive, prosecutors claim Carla's death came at the culmination of Owens' alleged sexual obsession with her. The jury heard jealousy may have played a part after Owens learned Carla intended to travel to Romania, where she was due to meet her online boyfriend in person for the first time.
Jurors have also heard evidence about material discovered on Owens' laptop following Carla's death. Police digital media investigator Dominic Kirby told the court he had examined the device and found 14,417 still and moving images had been transferred onto it between January 23 and 24, approximately two weeks before Carla died.
Covert pictures and altered images
Most of the material was pornographic and featured adult women, the jury heard. However, the collection also contained hundreds of covert pictures of Carla which had allegedly been taken inside the family home. Some showed the teenager wearing underwear or short pyjamas while completing everyday household tasks, including folding laundry and emptying bins.
The prosecution alleges Owens took the pictures from the sofa without Carla knowing she was being photographed. Nicholas Lumley KC, prosecuting, said: "It is the prosecution case that Carla had no idea these were being taken. There are a number of covert images taken by the defendant and some of them had been viewed in the days leading up to his visit to Preston."
The court also heard allegations that Owens altered pornographic photographs by placing Carla's head onto explicit images of naked women. Mr Lumley said: "Time and again, Carla's face is superimposed onto pornographic images."
Jurors were also told investigators found a video and 30 screenshots allegedly showing Owens having sex with an effigy dressed in Carla's clothes. The court heard an anime doll belonging to Carla had been used as the head of the effigy. A photograph of Owens wearing Carla's nightie was also shown to the jury. Prosecutors say he had viewed the image before travelling to see Carla in the early hours of February 4.
Owens, of Hopps Street, Hartlepool, denies murder, strangulation and grievous bodily harm. The trial at Preston Crown Court continues.
