The Murder of Samantha Josephson
For this case, which was recommended, I watched an episode of See No Evil. It’s season 9 episode 9, titled ‘Rideshare Nightmare.’
A young college student disappears after a night out.
Background
Samantha Josephson grew up in New Jersey. She was attending college at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where she was majoring in political science. She was a senior, and had just passed her exams, and received a full scholarship to Drexel University School of Law, in Philadelphia.
Samantha was described as smart, sassy, kind and outgoing. She was really looking forward to the next chapter of her life.
Samantha Josephson
Samantha, with her parents, Seymour and Marci
The Disappearance
Samantha hadn’t seen her friends in awhile, as she had been filling out applications for law school, and studying for exams. Samantha was excited to finally go out and celebrate with a night out in the Five Points district, which was in the downtown Columbia area.
Samantha and her friends arrived at The Bird Dog bar around 12:40am, on March 29, 2019. Samantha was in constant contact with her boyfriend, Greg Corbishley, who was living in Charleston at the time.
Greg was interviewed in this episode. He and Samantha had a very loving relationship. He described her as the love of his life. Greg said on that night, Samantha had been asking him to come out and meet them in Columbia. Greg said no, but that Samantha was planning to visit him in 2 days.
Around 2am, Samantha decided to leave because she had to work the next day. She left the bar alone, and waited outside for the Uber she had ordered. She was picked up at 2:09am.
Greg said he had Samantha’s location on, and noticed that the Uber had left in the opposite direction of the apartments where Samantha lived. Greg said he called and texted Samantha several times, but there was no answer. He said he went to bed thinking maybe he was just overreacting.
Where is Samantha?
Greg said he woke up later that morning on the 29th, and had several missed calls from Samantha’s friends. Her roommates said that Samantha hadn’t come home, wasn’t in her room, and hadn’t shown up for work. Her roommate had also searched Samantha’s computer, and discovered that her Uber had been cancelled because she hadn’t shown up.
Greg said he left to drive to Columbia, and contacted Samantha’s parents, Marci and Seymour. Her friends also contacted the Columbia police.
Greg, and Samantha’s friends, went out searching for her. They were able to search the area where her last location put her at. They knocked on doors, but no one had seen anything suspicious.
Next, they went to The Bird Dog, and asked if they could look at the surveillance footage. Samantha stood out. She was tall, and had been wearing a bright orange top. She was seen on surveillance when they arrived at the bar, inside the bar, and outside when she was waiting for her Uber.
At 2:09am, Samantha can be seen getting into a dark colored four door. The car was later identified as a black Chevy Impala.
The Chevy Impala
Greg said he got a sick feeling in his stomach after seeing that video, as he also knew that Samantha’s Uber had been cancelled. Greg went to the police with this information.
The police worked with a company called Statewide Security. They were able to obtain the surveillance footage from the Five Point district. One of the cameras was adjacent to The Bird Dog parking lot. Samantha can clearly be seen getting into that black Chevy Impala.
The cameras followed the Impala driving around the area, pulling into a parking lot, and doing a U-turn. The police believe that car had a clear view of Samantha standing alone. The car even runs over the curb on the way to pulling into a parking spot right in front of her. The car then drives out of the area, and was last picked up on camera about a mile and a half away.
A BOLO (be on the lookout) was issued for the car. All law enforcement knew that they were to pull over any Chevy Impalas matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle.
The Discovery
The police were in contact with Seymour and Marci, as they made the 11-12 hour drive from New Jersey. They were asked if they could check Samantha’s bank records.
Samantha’s card had been used twice. The first was used at an ATM about 43 miles away from Columbia. The second was in Columbia. Both times, the suspect had failed to withdraw any money.
The police were able to get a warrant for the surveillance footage from the banks. The suspect, a male, was seen in dark clothing, gloves, and his draw strings and a bandana were used to cover their face.
Nathaniel Rowland in the ATM surveillance footage
About fourteen hours after Samantha disappeared, two turkey hunters made a discovery in a small town called Mt. Zion. It was a body matching Samantha’s description, and was later positively identified as her. She had been stabbed about 100 times, and had a variety of injuries all over her body.
Samantha’s parents, friends, and boyfriend, were all notified at the police station.
The Traffic Stop
On March 30, 2019, Officer Jeffrey Kraft, was out searching for the suspect’s vehicle. He said he was just leaving the Five Points district when he spotted a black Chevy Impala.
He pulled the car over, and notified dispatch about the stop. Officer Kraft’s body cam footage was used in this episode. He can be heard asking the driver if he had a license, but the driver said no, as he had lost it at the club. Officer Kraft then asks who was smoking weed. The driver said he had smoked earlier at his home.
The driver was asked to get out of the vehicle, and can be seeing fleeing the scene. He was eventually captured, handcuffed, and identified as Nathaniel Rowland, 24.
The police now had probable cause to search the car. Inside Nathaniel’s car, the police found a pink keychain with a USB drive attached, a rose gold iPhone, and lots of blood. The back seat, head rest, back of the drivers seat, and insides of the doors were saturated in blood. There was also bloody clothing in the trunk.
Nathaniel Rowland was arrested around 3am on March 30.
What Really Happened?
Nathaniel had no care in the world during his interview. He could be seen trying to sleep, and told the police that he wasn’t involved, and didn’t want to talk.
The police tracked down Nathaniel’s girlfriend, Maria Howard. She was interviewed at the police station.
Maria said that Nathaniel had picked her up from work on March 28. She said when they returned to her house, they talked for a bit until she fell asleep around 1:30am. Maria said she had to be at work the next day at 7am, but Nathaniel wasn’t there, and didn’t return home until around 7:45-8am.
A search warrant was obtained for Maria’s home. In the trash in the back of her house, the police found more bloody clothing, bloody paper towels, cleaning supplies, and the murder weapon, which was a multi purpose tool. Samantha’s blood was found on all of these items.
Maria also admitted that she saw Nathaniel cleaning blood from the car. She said she didn’t call the police because she was afraid.
The Conviction
The police also discovered that Nathaniel had visited a cell phone repair store, the day after Samantha went missing. It was the same cell phone found in his car, which was Samantha’s iPhone.
The surveillance from the repair store and from the ATM were compared. In the footage, Nathaniel was wearing the same black hoodie with the white strings.
Nathaniel was charged with kidnapping, murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
The police believe Nathaniel’s motive had been to rob someone, at first. He saw Samantha waiting alone, and pretended to be her Uber. Nathaniel used his child safety locks to trap Samantha in his car. He didn’t plan on her fighting back so hard. Samantha’s footprint was found on the back window of his car. Nathaniel was able to overpower her, and brutally kill her. He then left her in a field in Mt. Zion, and attempted to clean his car, and throw away the evidence.
On July 27, 2021, Nathaniel was found guilty of murder, kidnapping, and possessing a weapon during a violent crime. He was sentenced to life in prison. His defense claimed that his DNA wasn’t found on Samantha, but someone else’s was.
Nathaniel has been called heartless, which I agree with. This case has also been described as one of the most severe anyone involved had ever seen.
Nathaniel Rowland
The Foundation
Samantha’s parents established the What’s My Name Foundation. The acronym, SAMI, stands for, Stop, Ask, Match, Inform.
Sami’s Law was also signed in June 2019. The law requires more identification on ride share vehicles. Now, vehicles must have two placards on their vehicles. The drivers also must have their photos and license plate numbers in the app.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I got chills all over my body after seeing the surveillance footage. I had seen it before, but not for awhile. It’s heartbreaking that Samantha was spotted by Nathaniel, and lured into his car. Samantha was just waiting for her Uber!!! Nathaniel is a fucking monster. I believe that if he hadn’t been caught he probably would’ve done this to some other innocent person. Nathaniel will never admit to killing Samantha, or giving her loved ones the answers they deserve.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Samantha_Josephson
https://people.com/crime/nathaniel-rowland-guilty-murder-samantha-josephson/
https://www.wyff4.com/article/verdict-in-usc-student-samantha-josephson-uber-murder-case/37146878
https://www.live5news.com/2021/07/27/day-6-closing-arguments-begin-trial-accused-killer/
https://fox28media.com/live-jury-delivers-plea-in-rowland-trial-the-murder-of-samantha-josephson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Vo1CsUm1Y
