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

[MsBetsy]

BBM....There were multiple SHARP wounds. Blunt force wounds were not mentioned, IIRC. She was apparently stabbed or cut repeatedly, not so much beaten. I so hope she was able to fight back and cause him some serious pain before she passed. JMO

Sorry, you're right, I used the wrong word. I did not mean to imply that she was beaten. Too late to edit, but yes, the autopsy indicated sharp wounds, which might be caused by a knife, glass, or any sharp object. Imo

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

.

 

[Herat]

BBM....There were multiple SHARP wounds. Blunt force wounds were not mentioned, IIRC. She was apparently stabbed or cut repeatedly, not so much beaten. I so hope she was able to fight back and cause him some serious pain before she passed. JMO

I think he likely had a knife in the car for self-protection: Nice shiny new car in bad neighborhood.

It’s possible he didn’t think he’d need it as a murder weapon, maybe just a threat against her if the object of the kidnapping was rape

 

[borndem]

dbm

 

[ilovechili]

So he was intentionally parked in an Uber waiting area?

That is how the talk between the two reporters on CNN made it sound. The spot he was in was used by Uber.

 

[Trudie]

Re: Autopsy findings

Multiple sharp wounds on head, neck, face, upper body, leg, foot

The leg & foot wounds sound like defensive wounds with her leg up and foot facing him trying to ward him off

The head and face wounds can be out of control wounds suggesting loss of emotional control by the assailant. They are not the wounds of an efficiant experienced killer.

Sounds like he lost emotional control of the situation.

He had the chance to just let her go as if there was an Uber mixup, but he didn’t: He attacked her and she defended herself. And it sounds like he lost control

Exactly.
At first I considered this might not be his first time. Now, I think it was. This is extremely disorganized, almost as if he didn’t even try to hide his crime. Usually the car involved in an abduction is hidden, sold, painted or destroyed & not back at the scene 24 hours later.
Ita, he lost all control, beginning the moment she opened the car door. That is when he should have told her he was not an Uber, he was there to pick up a friend, or whatever reason he was actually there for.
What made him take off with her? Intent to rob, murder or what?

 

[Trudie]

That is how the talk between the two reporters on CNN made it sound. The spot he was in was used by Uber.

The HC spot where Samantha was picked up or the parking lot? Tia

 

[MsBetsy]

I wonder if she tried to attack him, her in the back seat- him in the front.

How would he be able to control her? He’d have to stop the car and get out. Could she have used the baby seat as a shield?

It’s just so awful to think about. She’s a smart, smart girl, likely foughtg extremely hard against him.

He may have quickly restrained her. I guess we will know more about how hard she fought back when we find out how many wounds were defense wounds.
I just hope it wasn't long.

 

[Trudie]

He may have quickly restrained her. I guess we will know more about how hard she fought back when we find out how many wounds were defense wounds.
I just hope it wasn't long.

I wonder if all he77 broke loose as soon as he pulled away.
He might have planned to only rob her, then throw her out of the car. Samantha didn’t appear inebriated (to me), I think she caught on right away he was not her driver.

 

[ilovechili]

If the comment about the first dark car is to be taken as a specific detail, then she DID exercise some reasonable caution if the first vehicle that came by did not match the Uber description given of a black vehicle. She is very quick to get into Rowlands ‘ vehicle and it seems to me she has a moment of hesitation after the door is open and her head is bent into the car, as if she is asking a question.

She could have asked “Are you the Uber for Sami?” or “ Are you Jeff?”and have him answer affirmatively instead of waiting for him to give her name.

With the first car it could have been realized by either the driver or her the name and destination was wrong and she knew it was not her ride or was told. I think it probably pretty likely, if a first car is a fact.

 

[ilovechili]

The HC spot where Samantha was picked up or the parking lot? Tia

I took it to mean the HC spot or so I thought... Could be wrong though. I felt like he was referring to where she was standing and where he pulled into the spot.

 

[MsBetsy]

I wonder if all he77 broke loose as soon as he pulled away.
He might have planned to only rob her, then throw her out of the car. Samantha didn’t appear inebriated (to me), I think she caught on right away he was not her driver.

Yes, I'm thinking she put up quite a struggle as soon as she realized what was going on. It may have started as an assault with no weapon, and then he decided to attack her with a knife or some object as it escalated.
"Multiple sharp wounds" has got to mean a lot more than just a few stabwounds, as they were all over her body.
Maybe he first tried to stab her in the head and neck and as she fought back she received wounds on her arms, face, legs, etc.
He must have been in a frenzy at that point. She must have suffered terribly. It had to have been excruciating.
I hope this guy never sees the outside again. Jmo

 

[Trudie]

I took it to mean the HC spot or so I thought... Could be wrong though. I felt like he was referring to where she was standing and where he pulled into the spot.

Ty. That’s how I took it.

Does it make sense to you that he may have been there to pick up a friend that works in the bar area?
But after Samantha entered the car, rather than correcting her, he decides to rob her. But she surprises him, fighting like he77, he totally loses it, parks car, gets in the back seat, winds up killing her.
No way do I think she passed out or sat quietly.

The only logical reason I can think he would be back the next night is his gf works in the area & he has to pick her up.

 

[realanastasia]

In the video, the man standing in front of the car as if he is looking at it or those in it strikes me a bit unusual as well...

I noticed that guy, too—my immediate thought was that perhaps he, too, was waiting for an Uber, and peered at the car and driver to try to determine whether or not the Impala was there for him. Speaking from my own experience, I have done the same thing—I called an Uber to pick me and my partner up after a concert ended in a major city in the Northeast, and quickly discovered that all the other concert-goers had done the same! I walked up and down the street for at least 10 minutes or so, examining each one of the idling cars that had lined up outside the concert hall to see if it matched the make/model of my assigned ride (and it’s much harder than you’d think to tell a VW Jetta from a Passat, or a Hyundai Sonata from an Accent, when it’s dark and late and you’re tired—the only reason we found our Uber is because I finally connected with the driver (using his phone number, which is available through the Uber app, IIRC) and he directed us to the cross street where he was waiting. If that guy in the video had been told to look out for a Chevy Impala with a male driver (an assumption he’d likely have made, based on the driver’s first name), it might explain why he’d be staring intently at the perp’s car as it awaited its passenger.

 

[bestill]

His parents speak out....
Parents defend son charged in USC killing

 

[Geechiegirl]

Speculating that maybe the reason he was back there next night was that he was trying to cover his tracks - maybe visiting his girlfriend or a person who would know that he was the perpetrator that picked up Samantha from the video & news reports about her missing or possibly suspected he was & he was trying to either convince her otherwise or determine how much she knew & whether she would talk or whether he needed to kill her to keep her quiet.
The officer who did this traffic stop may have saved her life.
Could it be that the childlocks were on for her as well?

 

[Trudie]

His parents speak out....
Parents defend son charged in USC killing

Oh cool. His friend used his car, returning it full of blood.
Yeah, I always hate when this happens. What a stupid comment. Not surprising though.
Jmo

 

[ilovechili]

Ty. That’s how I took it.

Does it make sense to you that he may have been there to pick up a friend that works in the bar area?
But after Samantha entered the car, rather than correcting her, he decides to rob her. But she surprises him, fighting like he77, he totally loses it, parks car, gets in the back seat, winds up killing her.
No way do I think she passed out or sat quietly.

The only logical reason I can think he would be back the next night is his gf works in the area & he has to pick her up.

It seems truly stupid of him since there was an investigation in the area but they did find him a couple of blocks away. Maybe it is the only car and the gf works there... He could have not realized they were onto the type of car, etc. I guess as we have no idea if was up all night, etc. but probably quite a bit of it... He is not striking me as real bright, I mean look at how busy it was outside and how many people saw him when he abducted her. Would he be dumb enough to just go back again? Maybe. He was also driving a car around that was an evidence dream in the very area it happened.

I wondered once seeing what kind of locks he had today if he did not wait until they were out on the road even just a bit and then hit the locks from the front, she heard it and started to panic and realize he was not her car. She very well may have went wild with fear and in a frenzy at him. He would however have to pull over I would think to deal with it. Not familiar with Indy but would someone not see them? His being alone seems so difficult to deal with a back seat passenger while driving...

I would have to look back but I am pretty sure he picked her up sometime between 1:30 and 2:00 in the morning... He and his gf (if a gf) were I think stopped around 3 a.m. Maybe the night he did the abduction, he had some extra time before picking up gf...

I still think she may have been with him as well. I am really torn on that video footage.

 

[ilovechili]

Speculating that maybe the reason he was back there next night was that he was trying to cover his tracks - maybe visiting his girlfriend or a person who would know that he was the perpetrator that picked up Samantha from the video & news reports about her missing or possibly suspected he was & he was trying to either convince her otherwise or determine how much she knew & whether she would talk or whether he needed to kill her to keep her quiet.
The officer who did this traffic stop may have saved her life.
Could it be that the childlocks were on for her as well?

That is a thought. If he never picked her up and was gone most of the night, she may think he was out cheating too and be really upset with him. Then if she hears about the car etc. and what happened... I have a feeling LE knows most of these answers while we get to try to guess... They said she was "cooperating".

 

[Gardenista]

His parents speak out....
Parents defend son charged in USC killing

Watts family part deux?