Nathan Owens, 34, has been jailed for a minimum of 35 years for the murder of his stepdaughter Carla Georgescu, 19, whose body was found in her student flat in Preston. The sentence was handed down at Preston Crown Court on October 23, following a two-week trial.
Owens, who was described by the judge as “despicable,” killed Ms Georgescu the day before her 20th birthday, after driving 100 miles through the night from his home in Hartlepool, Co Durham, to carry out the attack.
Obsession and Effigy
The court heard that Owens, who married the victim's mother Janina, had developed a “dangerous sexual obsession” with his stepdaughter. He doctored childhood photographs of her into indecent images and filmed himself carrying out sexual acts in her bedroom and with an “effigy” of her clothed in her nightdress.
Mr Justice Jacobs, sentencing, said: “The last 90 minutes of Carla’s life are too horrendous to think about. I am sure that she suffered both mentally and physically during a material part of that 90 minutes.”
The Attack and Aftermath
In the early hours of February 4, Owens left his partner at their home and travelled to Preston. He messaged Carla, pretending that he and her mother were coming to pick up a purse her mother had left behind on a previous visit. CCTV showed Carla letting Owens, covered with a blanket, into her halls of residence – the last time she was seen alive.
Owens subjected his stepdaughter to a violent and sexual assault before strangling her. He then staged the scene to make it look as though she had taken her own life, disposed of evidence on his route, and returned home as if nothing had happened.
Conviction and Sentence
Detectives from Lancashire Police arrested Owens soon afterwards, but he denied any involvement in Carla’s death. He chose not to give evidence at his trial. The jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 35 years.
