Hartlepool killer Nathan Owens sentenced to life for murder of stepdaughter Carla Georgescu
A Hartlepool man has been jailed for life after murdering his stepdaughter who he had a sexual obsession with.
Nathan Owens, 34, travelled from his home in town to kill Carla Georgescu earlier this year at her student flat in Preston.
She was found dead by police and university staff on February 4, which also happened to be her 20th birthday.
Carla was a clinical psychology student at the University of Lancashire and was described as “intelligent, gentle and articulate”.
The weekend before she was killed, Carla’s mother, also from Hartlepool, visited her daughter, enjoying shopping and dinner together before Owens joined later.
Unknown to Carla or her mother at the time, Owens had harboured a sexual obsession with her.
On the evening of February 3 – the night before Carla was killed – her mum went to bed thinking her daughter was safe in Preston.
She left Owens downstairs who claimed he was “nocturnal” and liked to stay up all night playing video games.
Shortly before 1am on February 4, Owens sent an Instagram message to Carla asking if she was awake.
Owens told Carla that her mum had left her purse at her student flat at the weekend and that they were coming to collect it.
Carla messaged her mum about the missing purse – a message she did not see after Owens deleted it from her phone.
When Owens arrived in Preston, he parked on a side street close to the university and walked over to Carla’s student flat, carrying a blanket over his head.
Carla is captured on CCTV letting him into her accommodation. This is the last time she was seen alive.
Owens followed Carla up to her room where the court heard he assaulted, strangled and murdered her.
After killing Carla, Owens staged it to look like she had taken her own life.
After the murder, Owens left alone, covering his face with a facemask and carrying bags filled with evidence.
Owens’ car tracked his movements that morning, showing him make several stops on the way home to Hartlepool, including one along the M6 where the court heard he scattered evidence in an attempt to cover up his crimes.
After not hearing from her daughter on her birthday, Carla’s mum called the police, asking for a welfare check to be carried out because it was unusual for her not to be in touch.
It was initially believed that Carla had taken her own life after the way Owens had left her student flat.
A Home Office post mortem examination later determined, however, that Carla had been the victim of an assault.
Carla suffered at least two heavy blows to the head, wounds to her cheek thought to be caused by a sharp object, a number of other significant injuries and sexual assault.
The examination concluded that it was ultimately strangulation that caused Carla’s death and that none of her injuries could have been self-inflicted.
In the days following Carla’s death, the court heard how Owens lied to officers, claiming Carla asked him to go and help her tidy her room and to bring her some medical aids.
Shortly after, detectives arrested Owens at his home in Hartlepool on suspicion of the murder of Carla.
After his arrest, Owens’ devices were searched and officers found a number of covert photos taken of Carla over the past year in their Hartlepool home.
Owens took a photo of Carla as a child – before he knew her – and turned it into an indecent image.
He also used photos of Carla as an adult and filmed himself carrying out sexual acts – one in Carla’s bedroom.
Owens, formerly of Hopps Street and more recently of no fixed address, initially denied murdering Carla but was eventually charged with murder, assault causing grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation.
He was also charged with two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and taking an indecent photograph of a child.
He pleaded not guilty to the murder and chose not to give evidence in the trial, offering no explanation for his actions.
After a three-week trial, a jury took over three hours to unanimously find Owens guilty of all counts.
He previously admitted to the counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.
He appeared back in the dock at Preston Crown Court on Friday, October 23, where he was sentenced to life in prison.
He will have to serve a minimum of 35 years before he is eligible to apply for parole.