Found Deceased SC - Samantha Josephson, 21, Columbia, 29 March 2019 *Arrest*

[Trudie]

While I get as disgusted as anyone with the fact in every case media outlets have conflicting information, which makes it impossible to trust the info, I do not see much difference here whether the phone was in the glove compartment or somewhere else in the passenger compartment like if it got lodged under a seat or something but even then, I can't see that it makes much difference. Either way it is evidence because her phone was in his car.

To me the glove compartment is in the passenger compartment so they both could be correct, which is what we sometimes find.

I am truly not even curious about this question because to me it does not even show whether she had control of her phone or when she did not because he could have put it in the glove compartment at any time before or after her murder, like upon cleaning his car and finding it and likewise he may have not even found it himself if it was lodged somewhere, LE may have. Likewise, his prints may be on it or they may not.

For me, it makes very little difference precisely where it was and would change little.

I imagine once they found blood and especially when it tested presumptive, they then had cause to search the entire car including the glove compartment and trunk (and we know they searched the trunk). Once it tested positive as her blood in particular, I would think they most certainly had even more cause, coupled with the fact the car matched generally with the video, he was stopped in the same general area as the abduction and the fact that he ran--that seems like quite a bit of cause. My opinion only, maybe an expert can weigh in.

For me, it is just not one of the questions that matter.

jmo.

Ita. I do believe passenger compartment encompasses the entire car, personally.
But, I’ve never said “I’ll sit in the passenger compartment, lol, I simply say “I’ll sit in the backseat.”
I think the phone might have slid under the seat or even the car seat, maybe it was in the pocket on the back of the front seat, who knows? Point is, it was in the Impala.
I only want the murderer punished to the nth degree.

 

[MsBetsy]

Just a thought on the wording of “passenger compartment.” My father calls the the back seat the “passenger compartment” where passengers sit.

Even if she was sitting in the back, I would expect there to be blood all throughout the inside of the vehicle. Since she had multiple sharp force injuries, and he removed her to the trunk and then from the trunk to the place he left her, he would have had to have blood on himself, which may have been transferred to the front seat as well.
That is, assuming he attacked her in the car.
Maybe that's why they used the general term, "passenger compartment," which includes all seats, as opposed to saying the back seat, or something.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 3, 2019
Friends, Family Of Samantha Josephson Struggling To Make Sense Such Gruesome, Seemingly Random Act Of Violence

 

[ilovechili]

Ita. I do believe passenger compartment encompasses the entire car, personally.
But, I’ve never said “I’ll sit in the passenger compartment, lol, I simply say “I’ll sit in the backseat.”
I think the phone might have slid under the seat or even the car seat, maybe it was in the pocket on the back of the front seat, who knows? Point is, it was in the Impala.
I only want the murderer punished to the nth degree.

I see it the same way. Passenger seats on the other hand, I consider more the three seats other than the driver's seat lol. That really makes sense huh? But yes I think by strict definition the passenger compartment is the entire interior of the car. We then have the trunk, a separate compartment, etc.

It was in the car and if it were even in the trunk, I do not see where that would make much difference either because again no way to know when it was put in there.

I have questions I would like answers to but that one is not really on the list. I do totally understand those that do question it though. I would more like to know whether the battery was out, whether the battery had died, what is on that phone as last activity, its pings and so forth...

 

[MsBetsy]

I see it the same way. Passenger seats on the other hand, I consider more the three seats other than the driver's seat lol. That really makes sense huh? But yes I think by strict definition the passenger compartment is the entire interior of the car. We then have the trunk, a separate compartment, etc.

It was in the car and if it were even in the trunk, I do not see where that would make much difference either because again no way to know when it was put in there.

I have questions I would like answers to but that one is not really on the list. I do totally understand those that do question it though. I would more like to know whether the battery was out, whether the battery had died, what is on that phone as last activity, its pings and so forth...

Right, what is important is that he had the phone in his possession. He will have a hard time explaining that, especially if his prints are on it.
They will be able to track his movements, and maybe even when the attack occurred, if he took her phone and turned it off at a particular time.
Either way, it is an important piece of evidence. Imo

 

[ilovechili]

Even if she was sitting in the back, I would expect there to be blood all throughout the inside of the vehicle. Since she had multiple sharp force injuries, and he removed her to the trunk and then from the trunk to the place he left her, he would have had to have blood on himself, which may have been transferred to the front seat as well.
That is, assuming he attacked her in the car.
Maybe that's why they used the general term, "passenger compartment," which includes all seats, as opposed to saying the back seat, or something.

That is a great point.

I want to know where he cleaned up and changed which I assume he did.

 

[MJPeony]

I’m still trying to understand the timeline. If the bf knew immediately that something was wrong as he live-tracked her phone, then why is it being reported that she wasn’t notified as missing or in trouble until 1:30pm the next afternoon by her roommates?

Maybe the phone battery quickly died that night/early morning and the police therefore could not find her? I’m assuming the bf contacted authorities so perhaps it’s just a technicality that it keeps being reported she wasn’t reported missing until that afternoon. In which case, the police were in fact looking for her but the phone must have died. I suppose that’s my best working theory.


(https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost...-was-on-phone-with-her-during-fatal-trip/amp/)

 

[mks762]

I’m still trying to understand the timeline. If the bf knew immediately that something was wrong as he live-tracked her phone, then why is it being reported that she wasn’t notified as missing or in trouble until 1:30pm the next afternoon by her roommates?

Maybe the phone battery quickly died that night/early morning and the police therefore could not find her? I’m assuming the bf contacted authorities so perhaps it’s just a technicality that it keeps being reported she wasn’t reported missing until that afternoon. In which case, the police were in fact looking for her but the phone must have died. I suppose that’s my best working theory.


(https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost...-was-on-phone-with-her-during-fatal-trip/amp/)

No, as far as I know the boyfriend did not contact authorities. When I hear him saying things like "I immediately knew something was wrong" I take into account hindsight is 20/20 and he's grieving and in a horrible place right now. I think maybe he thought something was a little off but then I think either Samantha's phone died/was turned off or he fell asleep, I don't think he thought a) she was in the process of being kidnapped or b) she was about to be murdered. I don't think he thought he had any reason to notify police, which is completely understandable and would look a little crazy actually if he had notified police.

 

[MsBetsy]

No, as far as I know the boyfriend did not contact authorities. When I hear him saying things like "I immediately knew something was wrong" I take into account hindsight is 20/20 and he's grieving and in a horrible place right now. I think maybe he thought something was a little off but then I think either Samantha's phone died/was turned off or he fell asleep, I don't think he thought a) she was in the process of being kidnapped or b) she was about to be murdered. I don't think he thought he had any reason to notify police, which is completely understandable and would look a little crazy actually if he had notified police.

Very true, and we all worry when we can't get in touch with a loved one or they are not where they are supposed to be, but I think we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions that they may have been kidnapped or killed.
It seems reasonable to me to wait until the next day before taking any action, especially when it comes to an adult.
He probably reached out to her friends and family first, to see if they knew where she may have gone.
Even if he had called LE immediately, I doubt it would have done much good. Most victims are murdered within a few hours after they have been abducted. Imo

 

[stmarysmead]

Very true, and we all worry when we can't get in touch with a loved one or they are not where they are supposed to be, but I think we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions that they may have been kidnapped or killed.
It seems reasonable to me to wait until the next day before taking any action, especially when it comes to an adult.
He probably reached out to her friends and family first, to see if they knew where she may have gone.
Even if he had called LE immediately, I doubt it would have done much good. Most victims are murdered within a few hours after they have been abducted. Imo

There is also the fear of looking foolish or paranoid. When my daughter was in the NYC area, she needed to travel a few times for job interviews out of state. Since she lives alone and was leaving sometimes before dawn and other times returning late at night, I paid for a car service for her...which I arranged. One night her plane was delayed. She texted me that she was in the car and would text again when she got in her apartment.

Time went by, too much time. No call. I tried calling her. No answer. I called several times. No answer.

At this point, my husband is saying...go to bed...she forgot.

So the choice is...look dumb...look paranoid...or do something. I called the car service and they confirmed they dropped her at the path to the apartment. I decided if I didn’t hear in 15 more minutes, I would ask police to do a wellness check.

She called. She had taken her dog out and left the phone in the apartment. (2:AM) She was very annoyed with me.

Too bad.

Too often we hold back when something doesn’t seem right. We make excuses in our minds. We feel foolish to act in what, most times, are just our unjustified fears and suspicions. Thank God.

Then we read a case like this...

 

[MJPeony]

Very true, and we all worry when we can't get in touch with a loved one or they are not where they are supposed to be, but I think we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions that they may have been kidnapped or killed.
It seems reasonable to me to wait until the next day before taking any action, especially when it comes to an adult.
He probably reached out to her friends and family first, to see if they knew where she may have gone.
Even if he had called LE immediately, I doubt it would have done much good. Most victims are murdered within a few hours after they have been abducted. Imo

Oh yes, I can totally see how he would have not assumed the worse. In which case, yes it makes total sense he didn’t contact authorities. So that being the case perhaps the tracking showed her going in the wrong direction or something (what concerned him perhaps) and then her phone died. Which would make sense as to why her final location was never a concern at the time.

In any case, hopefully my post didn’t come across as critical of the bf in any way, as that was not at all my intent. He is only a victim of this tragedy. I was just tying to get a handle on the timeline and get some answers as to what part her phone played (did it die, what happened when the legitimate Uber guy contacted her, etc). All questions that probably don’t matter in the long run but I still sure would like to have filled in inside my own little mind!

 

[J Block]

Slightly more central in the front seat area is a pale area that is thinner on top, almost like a head. I actually think it's the light from the streetlight hitting the left edge of the passenger seat. It does look slightly human-shaped, but it's really close to the center of the vehicle and not in the middle of the front passenger seat. I assume he has a black interior and upholstry color, so the rest of the seat outline doesn't show up.

MHO: That’s the shadow of the male standing outside, in front the car’s front bumper.

 

[PommyMommy]

Former classmate of Samantha Josephson starts online petition, says no one is to blame except her accused killer
A former college classmate of Samantha Josephson is starting an online petition to bring about change to safety and security within rideshare companies, despite believing they aren’t to blame for Josephson’s death.

Sydney Ford, 21, graduated from USC in 2016 but said she took a political science class with Josephson when she was an underclassman. She now attends school in Atlanta and said talk of her former classmate’s murder is everywhere.

[...]

Earlier this week, Ford said she was tossing and turning at night—unable to sleep—thinking about what kind of change she could promote.

“It kept weighing on my hear that this loss could be something anyone could experience,” she said. “So I got up and started the petition.”

[...]

The online petition was posted in the early morning hours of Wednesday and has already gathered nearly 30,000 signatures from people worldwide. It asks for companies like Uber and Lyft to consider using QR codes to ensure both drivers and passengers are safe.

“It could work a couple of different ways,” she said. “The certified driver could have a QR code sticker on their front passenger side window that the passenger would scan with their phone before getting into the car, ensuring they’re about to get in the right car. Or, the driver could have the code on their phone, hold it up to the window and have the passenger scan it from there.”

Ford said she hopes executives from both rideshare companies take notice of the online petition and consider the idea. Uber already has several safety measures in place, including sending a passenger the make and model of the car, license plate number and a picture of the driver.

Ford said she does not blame Uber or Lyft for Josephson’s death but believes they can help promote positive change.

[...]

 

[Gardenista]

Former classmate of Samantha Josephson starts online petition, says no one is to blame except her accused killer
A former college classmate of Samantha Josephson is starting an online petition to bring about change to safety and security within rideshare companies, despite believing they aren’t to blame for Josephson’s death.

Sydney Ford, 21, graduated from USC in 2016 but said she took a political science class with Josephson when she was an underclassman. She now attends school in Atlanta and said talk of her former classmate’s murder is everywhere.

[...]

Earlier this week, Ford said she was tossing and turning at night—unable to sleep—thinking about what kind of change she could promote.

“It kept weighing on my hear that this loss could be something anyone could experience,” she said. “So I got up and started the petition.”

[...]

The online petition was posted in the early morning hours of Wednesday and has already gathered nearly 30,000 signatures from people worldwide. It asks for companies like Uber and Lyft to consider using QR codes to ensure both drivers and passengers are safe.

“It could work a couple of different ways,” she said. “The certified driver could have a QR code sticker on their front passenger side window that the passenger would scan with their phone before getting into the car, ensuring they’re about to get in the right car. Or, the driver could have the code on their phone, hold it up to the window and have the passenger scan it from there.”

Ford said she hopes executives from both rideshare companies take notice of the online petition and consider the idea. Uber already has several safety measures in place, including sending a passenger the make and model of the car, license plate number and a picture of the driver.

Ford said she does not blame Uber or Lyft for Josephson’s death but believes they can help promote positive change.

[...]

I love the QR idea.

 

[cybervampira]

Del

 

[Maa23*s]

Former classmate of Samantha Josephson starts online petition, says no one is to blame except her accused killer
A former college classmate of Samantha Josephson is starting an online petition to bring about change to safety and security within rideshare companies, despite believing they aren’t to blame for Josephson’s death.

Sydney Ford, 21, graduated from USC in 2016 but said she took a political science class with Josephson when she was an underclassman. She now attends school in Atlanta and said talk of her former classmate’s murder is everywhere.

[...]

Earlier this week, Ford said she was tossing and turning at night—unable to sleep—thinking about what kind of change she could promote.

“It kept weighing on my hear that this loss could be something anyone could experience,” she said. “So I got up and started the petition.”

[...]

The online petition was posted in the early morning hours of Wednesday and has already gathered nearly 30,000 signatures from people worldwide. It asks for companies like Uber and Lyft to consider using QR codes to ensure both drivers and passengers are safe.

“It could work a couple of different ways,” she said. “The certified driver could have a QR code sticker on their front passenger side window that the passenger would scan with their phone before getting into the car, ensuring they’re about to get in the right car. Or, the driver could have the code on their phone, hold it up to the window and have the passenger scan it from there.”

Ford said she hopes executives from both rideshare companies take notice of the online petition and consider the idea. Uber already has several safety measures in place, including sending a passenger the make and model of the car, license plate number and a picture of the driver.

Ford said she does not blame Uber or Lyft for Josephson’s death but believes they can help promote positive change.

[...]

Wow, FANTASTIC!

 

[StarryStarryNight]

Very true, and we all worry when we can't get in touch with a loved one or they are not where they are supposed to be, but I think we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions that they may have been kidnapped or killed.
It seems reasonable to me to wait until the next day before taking any action, especially when it comes to an adult.
He probably reached out to her friends and family first, to see if they knew where she may have gone.
Even if he had called LE immediately, I doubt it would have done much good. Most victims are murdered within a few hours after they have been abducted. Imo

I agree.
I also appreciate the fact that as soon as LE was notified they took it seriously and started looking for her immediately. So many times we have heard stories of family or friends reporting people missing and the police refuse to start looking because their protocol says they have to wait a certain amount of time.

 

[Researchgirl]

Lyft has light up signage place in window that will illuminated the name of the passenger on it when it pulls up a v when passenger gets into car, on the back side of it, so passenger can read it. Some states require this sign some do not and some drivers have them regardless if the state doesn’t require them. I would presume Uber has a similar illuminating sign.

Even if she was sitting in the back, I would expect there to be blood all throughout the inside of the vehicle. Since she had multiple sharp force injuries, and he removed her to the trunk and then from the trunk to the place he left her, he would have had to have blood on himself, which may have been transferred to the front seat as well.
That is, assuming he attacked her in the car.
Maybe that's why they used the general term, "passenger compartment," which includes all seats, as opposed to saying the back seat, or something.

Are you thinking he didn’t use any of those bleach cloths at all that were found to try to clean up some? So on first sight blood wasn’t obvious? The simple definition of compartment in general is “a divide, into separate sections.” In my opinion, the Passenger seat is the passenger seat. The passenger compartment is separated/divided to the back area where more passengers sit. Very old school when I hear people use that term.

I do kinda believe there was blood everywhere regardless. The police telling us specifically the blood was here, here, on here, on that and specifically on this is a bit out of the ordinary. They usually use general statements. For which we now have all analyzed. Lol thanks Columbia police department! Ha!

 

[MsBetsy]

Lyft has light up signage place in window that will illuminated the name of the passenger on it when it pulls up a v when passenger gets into car, on the back side of it, so passenger can read it. Some states require this sign some do not and some drivers have them regardless if the state doesn’t require them. I would presume Uber has a similar illuminating sign.



Are you thinking he didn’t use any of those bleach cloths at all that were found to try to clean up some? So on first sight blood wasn’t obvious? The simple definition of compartment in general is “a divide, into separate sections.” In my opinion, the Passenger seat is the passenger seat. The passenger compartment is separated/divided to the back area where more passengers sit. Very old school when I hear people use that term.

I do kinda believe there was blood everywhere regardless. The police telling us specifically the blood was here, here, on here, on that and specifically on this is a bit out of the ordinary. They usually use general statements. For which we now have all analyzed. Lol thanks Columbia police department! Ha!

No, I think they are referring to the blood that was detected when they examined the car. Whatever was remaining after he had cleaned up. I don't think bleach eliminates all traces of blood.
And yes, I think they just used the general term, "passenger compartment," because it includes the interior part of the car, including the drivers seat. Imo
- answer to question in second post you replied to.

 

[borndem]

I heard about it as well and she supposedly couldn't get out because there were no door locks on the inside from what i heard on news. I wonder if she could have kicked out the passenger side window and climbed out of the window after she kicked it out and escaped. I have seen people do that on COPS on tv and one person in the news in my state a few months back actually escaped from a cop car that way.

I think the minute she started to panic and scream, try to get out, etc., he probably disabled her with a whack on the head with some weapon -- heavy pipe, baseball bat, hammer, crow bar, lug wrench, etc. Maybe he showed her a pistol, etc. Someone could notice her thrashing around in the back seat, even at 2:00--3:00 in the morning, and he couldn't risk it.

And one more thing --

Welcome to Websleuths,
foxyfluff !!​