A jury has heard how a Hartlepool stepfather accused of murdering a student in her university halls of residence in Preston, Lancashire, engaged in sexual activity in her room before allegedly killing her.
Carla Georgescu, 19, was discovered suspended from a wardrobe with injuries to her hands, cheek and sexual injuries. She was wearing incontinence pants and a sex toy was found positioned close to her body, Preston Crown Court was told.
Prosecution case
Prosecutors allege that Carla's stepfather, Nathan Owens, murdered her after developing a disturbing sexual obsession with his stepdaughter. Nicholas Lumley KC suggested he may have been driven by sexual jealousy upon discovering she had plans to meet her online boyfriend in person for the first time in Romania.
Mr Owens, 34, denies murder, strangulation and GBH. The jury has been shown footage of Mr Owens arriving at the university accommodation in the early hours of 4 February 2026, while his wife was at home asleep at their east coast property.
Mr Owens acknowledged he had visited his stepdaughter but maintained she was alive and well when he departed an hour and a half later, reports Lancs Live.
Forensic evidence
Forensic specialist Helen Jones, of Lancashire Police, addressed the jury regarding samples of blood, DNA and bodily fluids recovered from the student's bedroom. She confirmed there was evidence of sexual activity forensically linked to the defendant, found on a blanket, Carla's sanitary pad and swabs taken from her body.
The expert also described blood staining found within the room, adding that photographs taken after Carla was discovered appeared to show wet blood on her hands.
"In my opinion it would not have been possible for her to tie it [the belt] without transferring blood onto the door or the handle itself," she said.
Discovery and investigation
Carla was found at the University of Lancashire's Ribble Hall on February 5, 2026, after her mother contacted campus security to carry out a welfare check. The student had been due to travel to Romania with a friend on what would have been her 20th birthday, but neither Carla's mother nor her friend had been able to get in touch with her, the jury has heard.
When officers entered Carla's room on the top floor of the student block, it was initially believed she had taken her own life. However, the case swiftly became a murder investigation, with her stepfather, Nathan Owens, emerging as the prime suspect, the court has heard.
The jury has been told of items recovered from Carla's bedroom, the family home in Hartlepool, and locations along what the prosecution contends was Mr Owens' route home following his visit to Carla on February 4.
Items found in Cumbria
The jury has further been informed about a number of items discovered near the A685 in Cumbria, which the prosecution alleges were discarded by Mr Owens after he killed Carla. Jennifer Tunstall, a farmer who lives and works in the area, said she discovered 'rubbish' dumped near her farm gate on February 7.
She said she 'hates rubbish' and cleared it up, placing it into an animal feed bag inside a council bin bag, which she left out for collection.
Among the items she retrieved were a blood-stained mattress protector, two or three socks, tissues, a black and white sex toy and white latex gloves, she said in a statement.
On September 9, however, a police officer visited the farm and enquired whether she had witnessed any fly-tipping. The farmer showed them the bag of rubbish she had gathered, the jury was told.
The following day, CSI investigators recovered a blue sex toy from a nearby river, along with a bottle of lubricant and a T-shirt in the surrounding area, prosecutors said.
White latex gloves were also found at the house in Hartlepool, identical to those discovered in Cumbria. Forensic testing revealed blood matching Carla's profile on the bedsheet and gloves found by the farmer.
Earlier evidence
Earlier in the trial, jurors heard how on February 4 Mr Owens returned to Hartlepool and spent the day shopping and walking on the beach. He did not disclose that he had travelled to Preston until two days later, when Ms Georgescu made contact with the mortuary regarding her daughter.
Prosecutors allege that in the days and weeks prior to Carla's death, Mr Owens viewed a series of videos that revealed his sexual fixation with his stepdaughter. These included covert recordings of the teenager captured while she was dressed in her underwear or short pyjamas, as well as footage of him engaging in sexual activity with an effigy wearing her nightie.
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."
The trial continues.
