A student found dead at her university halls was murdered by her stepfather, who had developed a "wholly improper and dangerously entrenched sexual obsession" with her, a jury has been told.
Carla Georgescu was found unresponsive at Ribble Halls in Preston on what should have been her 20th birthday - February 5, 2026. She was discovered severely wounded in her bedroom, collapsed against a wardrobe with a belt round her neck, by police and University of Lancashire staff who had been asked to conduct a welfare check by her mother, jurors heard.
Injuries and initial suspicion
Initially, it was suspected Carla had taken her own life, the court was told. The 19-year-old sustained two serious head injuries and a laceration through her cheek, jurors were informed. Carla also suffered sexual injuries, it was stated.
Carla's stepfather Nathan Owens is standing trial at Preston Crown Court. The 34-year-old from Hartlepool denies murder, GBH and strangulation.
Prosecution case
As proceedings began on Tuesday, jurors heard that Carla - a second year psychology student at the University of Lancashire - was in good health and spirits in the weeks leading up to her death, reports Lancs Live. She was organising a trip to her native Romania with her closest friend on February 5 and was looking forward to meeting her online boyfriend face-to-face for the first time several weeks later, Nicholas Lumley KC, prosecuting, informed the court.
On February 3, Carla returned to her student accommodation around 5.15pm and spent some time on her laptop and mobile phone. She had a chat with her mate about their impending holiday and requested her to send over her boarding pass, the court was informed. In the early hours of February 4, Mr Owens sent a message to his stepdaughter, alleging that her mum had forgotten her purse during their weekend visit. He stated that she needed it before Carla's departure and they were en route to retrieve it, the jury heard.
Events at the halls
Mr Owens arrived solo at the student halls at approximately 4am, according to court proceedings. He parked away from the designated parking area and concealed his head with a blanket as he approached the student block, the jury learned. About ninety minutes later, he was spotted wearing Carla's trainers and a face mask, using an umbrella to shield his face from CCTV as he exited the building, the court was told.
On February 5, Carla had planned to rendezvous with her friend in Birmingham for their flight but failed to show up, the court heard. Her mother also couldn't reach her on her birthday and was so concerned that she contacted the police, it was reported. Police officers and university staff visited the flat in Ribble Hall and encountered a 'disturbing scene', according to court proceedings. Carla's body was found leaning backwards against a wardrobe with blood on her body and underwear, the jury was informed. A leather belt was discovered wrapped around her neck, the court heard.
Sexual obsession evidence
A murder inquiry was launched, jurors were told. The prosecution alleges that evidence then surfaced of Mr Owens' supposed sexual fixation with his stepdaughter. Throughout the preceding year, the Crown states he had secretly photographed Carla while she carried out domestic tasks wearing pyjamas. During the weeks leading up to Carla's death, Mr Owens viewed footage of himself engaging in sexual acts with a life-sized 'effigy' clothed in Carla's nightgown, the jury heard. Additional recordings depicted him having sexual relations with Carla's anime dolls and a stuffed cat she had purchased for him, the court was told.
He had also altered innocent selfies of Carla into sexual imagery which he browsed in the week prior to her death, prosecutors said. "The only possible reason for looking at those images is that Nathan Owens had a wholly improper and dangerously entrenched sexual obsession with his stepdaughter," Mr Lumley KC told the jury.
Background and aftermath
The court heard Carla was in good health and although she had disclosed some previous suicidal thoughts to a counsellor, had said she had no intention to act on them when asked directly. In January, she told a nurse she had no sexual experience during an appointment for treatment for endometriosis, a painful gynaecological condition, the court heard.
The prosecution alleges that in the early hours of February 4, Mr Owens left Carla's mother asleep at their home in Hartlepool and drove to the University of Lancashire where he murdered the 19-year-old in her room. "Why choose to go that night?", Mr Lumley KC said. "We may never know. He would have known that Carla was due to leave for Romania the next day, to go with Alice her friend to go on a trip to that country. He would have known she had struck up a romantic relationship with a young man who she also planned to see in the near future. It could have been there was a degree of sexual jealousy. Did he not want her to be romantically involved with anyone else?"
The court was told that Carla's mother had no idea her husband had departed the house and journeyed to Preston that evening. She subsequently informed investigators that Mr Owens led a night-time lifestyle, remaining awake throughout the night gaming on his computer and retiring to bed as she rose for work, it was stated. When she failed to reach her daughter on her birthday, Ms Georgescu contacted police who attended the halls in Victoria Street, jurors heard. Upon finding Carla's body, officers initially believed her death was self-inflicted, though she bore several suspicious wounds, the court was told.
She sustained two severe head injuries and a laceration across her cheek, inflicted by a knife or blade. Carla also suffered sexual injuries and DNA from both her and Mr Owens was discovered on sex toys within her room, the court heard. Mr Lumley KC said: "Carla Georgescu had been gravely assaulted, beaten about the head, stabbed to the face, the blade connecting with her hands as she tried to defend herself, before being strangled to death by use, at the very least, of the belt and then suspended from the wardrobe handle. There had plainly been some form of grievous sexual activity too. Hardly surprising given his obsession with her."
Investigation and charges
The prosecution claims Mr Owens took Carla's phone and laptop and disposed of them on the route between Preston and Hartlepool. Blood-stained clothing, Carla's bedsheets, latex gloves and lubrication were subsequently recovered by police, the court was told. A sex toy matching one featured in one of Mr Owens' videos was discovered in a beck in Cumbria, jurors heard.
On February 5, 2026, two police officers called at the family home in Hartlepool and told Carla's mother her daughter had been found dead, the court was told. They indicated it appeared she had taken her own life, the jury heard. Following that visit, Mr Owens allegedly carried out internet searches including 'police misinformed about cause of death' and 'police lying to victim's family'. Mr Lumley KC informed the jury the defendant wiped more than 6,000 files and performed a factory reset on his phone. After Carla's mother visited her daughter at the mortuary on January 6, Mr Owens claimed he had been to the university accommodation to help Carla tidy her room and take some items to her.
Mr Lumley KC stated: "What did he tell the police, when they interviewed him over all those hours, on suspicion of Carla's murder? Beyond a fleeting denial that he had anything to do with her death and had caused her no injury, he said nothing else. On the prosecution case he had been there, he was the last person to see Carla alive, he had taken all those things from her, from her room. It may be that he now seeks to blame Carla, or someone else altogether, it doesn't really explain his actions or his movements in any way. On that evidence you will safely be able to conclude that it was clearly Nathan Owens who attacked and killed young Carla."
Nathan Owens, 34, of Hopps Street, Hartlepool, denies the charges against him. The trial continues.
