WASHINGTON: A South Carolina man has been charged in the murder of a University of South Carolina student who may have gotten into her killer’s car mistakenly believing that it was her Uber ride, police said.
Nathaniel Rowland, 24, was charged with the murder and kidnapping of Samantha Josephson, 21, who was last seen outside of Five Points bar in Columbia, South Carolina early Friday morning, Columbia Police Chief William Holbrook said during a news conference on Saturday evening.
Her friends called the authorities to report a missing person about 12 hours later after they had not seen Josephson since she left the bar the night before, he said.
“We believe that she simply mistakenly got into this particular car thinking that it was an Uber ride,” Holbrook said. “She opened the door, got into it and departed with the suspect driving.”
Two hunters found her body in a wooded area along a dirt road in a rural part of a nearby county a few hours after her friends called police, Holbrook said.
“Our hearts are broken. There is nothing tougher than to stand before a family and explain how a loved one was murdered,” he said. “It was gut-wrenching.”
Her father, Seymour Josephson of Robbinsville, New Jersey, wrote a post on Facebook about his daughter’s death.
“It is with tremendous sadness and of a broken heart that I post this! I will miss and love my baby girl for the rest of life,” he wrote.
Police received a number leads and were able to determine through video that the vehicle Josephson got into was a black Chevrolet Impala. Early on Saturday morning, an officer spotted a vehicle matching the description of the car two blocks from the tavern and initiated a traffic stop, Holbrook said.
The officer took the suspect into custody after a short foot chase. Police later found blood and her cell phone along with several cleaning items in his car. Blood was also found in the car’s trunk, Holbrook said.
Uber Technologies Inc. launched a public awareness campaign in July 2017 regarding Uber scams and how riders can avoid getting into the wrong car, suggesting that they check the app to make sure that the car matches the one that they ordered.
If the information doesn’t match up, do not get into the car, the company wrote on a blog post.
Murdered South Carolina student may have thought car was her Uber ride -police
Murdered South Carolina student may have thought car was her Uber ride -police
UK wants closer EU defense ties with potential bid to join new SAFE fund
- European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and other EU officials are due in London for talks this week
- Starmer has tried to work more closely with the EU and remove some post-Brexit trade barriers
BEIJING: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government will consider applying to join a second possible multi-billion-euro European Union fund for defense projects as his ministers prepare for talks with EU counterparts this week.
The European Commission is considering launching a second edition of its SAFE loans scheme as Europe seeks to bolster its defenses due to growing fears of Russia and doubts about US security commitments to Europe under President Donald Trump.
A British plan to join the original 150 billion-euro ($177 billion) SAFE fund broke down in November after Starmer’s government refused to pay a financial contribution to join, representing a setback for a post-Brexit reset of relations.
Asked if Britain would seek to join a new version of SAFE, Starmer said Europe needed to do more to rearm.
“That should require us to look at schemes like SAFE and others to see whether there is a way in which we can work more closely together,” he told reporters on his way to China last week. The comments were scheduled for release on Sunday.
“Whether it’s SAFE or other initiatives, it makes good sense for Europe in the widest sense of the word — which is the EU plus other European countries — to work more closely together.”
European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and other EU officials are due in London for talks this week.
Starmer has tried to work more closely with the EU and remove some post-Brexit trade barriers in contrast to the rancorous relations between previous Conservative governments and the EU as they negotiated Britain’s departure from the bloc, which was completed in 2020.
He has also taken a leading role in co-ordinating European support for Ukraine.
Under the SAFE scheme, the EU jointly borrowed money on financial markets to lend to countries in the bloc for defense projects.
Asked about recent criticism from Nigel Farage, whose Reform UK party is leading in the polls, who said the governing Labour government was moving too close to the EU, Starmer said the Brexit campaigner had repeatedly misled the public.
“I wouldn’t listen too much to what Nigel Farage has to say about this,” Starmer said. ($1 = 0.8440 euros)
