Stepfather convicted of killing 19-year-old stepdaughter in Preston student flat

At Preston Crown Court, Nathan Owens, 34, was found guilty of murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter, Carla Georgescu, a clinical psychology student at the University of Lancashire. Evidence revealed that Owens travelled more than 100 miles overnight, entered her student flat in Ribble Hall at around 4 a.m., and strangled her, later leaving the building while shielding himself with an umbrella and face mask. Prosecutors argued the killing stemmed from sexual jealousy after learning she intended to travel to Romania to meet an online partner.

CCTV footage and telematics data from Owens’s Ford Puma documented his solo trip and the disposal of a discarded mobile phone and blood-stained items along the route. Carla’s body was discovered during a welfare check the following day, initially misidentified as a suicide. Owens gave no defence, and sentencing will be scheduled later.