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A thirty-five-year-old stepfather from Hartlepool appeared before Preston Crown Court accused of murdering his nineteen-year-old student stepdaughter Carla Georgescu inside her university halls of residence following an alleged dangerous sexual obsession. Nathan Owens stands charged with murder, intentional strangulation, and causing grievous bodily harm after the undergraduate was discovered dead in her accommodation at Ribble Hall in Preston on 5 February 2025. Prosecution barristers outlined to the jury that the stepdad made a covert overnight return journey across Northern England during the early hours of 4 February, carrying out a fatal assault involving a knife and manual strangulation before attempting to conceal critical evidence in rural terrain.
The prosecution contends that the fatal confrontation represented the catastrophic culmination of an illicit obsession harboured by the stepfather toward his young stepdaughter. Investigators recovered forensic digital material demonstrating that in the days immediately prior to her death, the defendant accessed recorded footage depicting himself engaging in sexual acts with her personal items, including an effigy clothed in Carla's nightdress alongside her childhood dolls. Forensic scientists inspecting Carla’s university room subsequently identified Owens' DNA on the victim's body and within the premises, alongside a discarded intimate appliance situated adjacent to where her body was located.
Court proceedings heard how Carla's mother, consultant psychiatrist Janina Georgescu, remained completely unaware that her husband had slipped away from their residence in Hopps Street, Hartlepool, while she slept during the early hours of Tuesday, 4 February. Prosecuting counsel presented evidence confirming that the stepfather was the final person to see the teenager alive, having driven approximately one hundred miles southwest across the Pennines to the university campus before dawn. Upon departing the scene, Owens reportedly disposed of the teenager's mobile telephone, laptop computer, bedclothes, and personal effects in secluded rural locations to obstruct subsequent inquiries.
Following his return to County Durham later that morning, Owens behaved as if nothing untoward had transpired, Daily Dazzling Dawn understands. Speaking from the witness box on the second day of the trial, Ms Georgescu explained that her husband appeared entirely routine throughout the day, accompanying her on regular domestic shopping errands and joining her for a stroll along the local shoreline. Carla was already deceased in her accommodation at that moment, remaining undiscovered until concerns escalated the following afternoon when she failed to respond to repeated telephone messages and digital communications.
Recounting the final weekend prior to the tragedy, Ms Georgescu described visiting her daughter on 31 January to purchase birthday presents and celebrate her academic progress. Daily Dazzling Dawn learned through witness evidence that Carla was exceptionally cheerful and enthusiastic about her immediate future, looking forward to travelling to a music concert in Romania, meeting her long-term online partner in person, and discussing the publication of an authored manuscript with literary agents. Ms Georgescu noted that Carla appeared happier than she had been since early childhood, maintaining positive ambitions to train and qualify as a paediatric psychologist.
The alarm was formally raised on Wednesday, 5 February, when university security staff were requested to perform a physical welfare check after Carla ceased responding to family inquiries. Lancashire Constabulary officers arrived at the family address in Hartlepool hours later to deliver the initial notification of Carla’s death, which was initially treated as an apparent self-inflicted incident. While Ms Georgescu reacted with shock and confusion, the stepfather wept openly and volunteered to coordinate funeral arrangements, yet omitted any mention of his covert journey to Preston until confronted following communications with mortuary attendants days later. When challenged, the defendant claimed he had merely attended Carla's room overnight to deliver personal care supplies and assist in removing domestic refuse.
Evidentiary Submissions and Continuing Trial
Further written testimony delivered to the jury detailed Carla's personal background and relationships, including statements submitted by her online partner, who confirmed that they had maintained regular contact on social platforms since late 2024. Communication logs established that the couple exchanged messages mere hours prior to the fatal attack, closing their evening correspondence with affectionate sentiments. Those who interacted with the student, including fellow members of the university community and specialist support counsellors, depicted her as an articulate, philosophically minded young woman whose perceived naivety was accompanied by clear intellectual capability and focused vocational goals.
Nathan Owens denies murder, intentional strangulation, and grievous bodily harm, maintaining that his nocturnal visit involved neither violence nor sexual misconduct. The trial continues before the jury at Preston Crown Court.
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