A man described as "despicable" by a judge has been jailed for life with a minimum of 35 years for the murder of his stepdaughter.
Carla Georgescu, 19, was found dead in her student flat in Preston the day before her birthday. Nathan Owens, 34, had driven 100 miles through the night from Hartlepool to kill her.
Owens had concealed his behaviour following his marriage to Carla's mother, Janina. He had manipulated childhood photographs of Ms Georgescu into indecent images, filmed himself performing sexual acts in her bedroom, and with an "effigy" of her dressed in her nightdress.
Brutal attack and staged scene
Following a two-week trial at Preston Crown Court, a jury found Owens guilty of murder. Handing down the life sentence, Mr Justice Jacobs said Owens had subjected his victim to a "horrific, brutal attack".
The judge 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."
In the early hours of 4 February, Owens left his partner at their home in Hartlepool and travelled to Preston. He sent messages to Carla, falsely claiming that he and her mother were coming to collect a purse her mother had left behind during a previous visit to Lancashire.
Arrest and denial
CCTV footage showed Carla allowing Owens, concealed beneath a blanket, into her halls of residence. He subjected her to a violent and sexual assault before strangling her, then staged the scene to make it appear she had taken her own life. He returned home, discarding evidence along the way.
Lancashire Police detectives arrested him shortly afterwards, but he denied any involvement in Carla's death. Owens chose not to give evidence at his trial.
