This is the moment Nathan Owens, accused of murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter, arrived at her university accommodation with his head concealed beneath a blanket before allegedly strangling her.
Owens, 34, allegedly drove through the night from Hartlepool to Preston before killing Carla Georgescu at Ribble Hall, a block of student accommodation on the University of Lancashire campus.
Prosecutors claim he may have been driven by “sexual jealousy” after learning that Carla, a second-year clinical psychology student, was preparing to meet a man she had developed an online romantic relationship with.
Jurors at Owens’ murder trial were told that his “escalating fascination” with Carla included having sex with a life-sized “effigy” of his teenage stepdaughter, dressed in her nightdress.
Preston Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of Owens parking his Ford Puma close to Carla’s accommodation at about 4am on February 4. He had driven from the family home in Hartlepool without telling his sleeping wife, Carla’s mother.
The footage shows Owens, alone, walking towards the building’s foyer with a patterned blanket covering his head.
Around an hour and a half later, he was filmed leaving the building while using an umbrella to shield himself. He was wearing a face mask, Carla’s trainers and carrying two bags, the court heard.
Owens then returned to Hartlepool. His wife, Janina, told jurors yesterday that he did not mention making the overnight journey to Preston to see Carla.
Carla Georgescu, 19, a second-year clinical psychology student at the University of Lancashire, was allegedly strangled and murdered by her stepfather Nathan Owens
Preston Crown Court was shown footage of Owens walking towards the student accommodation with a patterned blanket over his head
Janina became concerned when Carla failed to respond to her calls and messages. The following day, which would have been Carla’s 20th birthday, she contacted university security.
Staff carried out a welfare check and found Carla’s body slumped against a wardrobe door, with a belt around her neck. They initially believed she had died by suicide.
The court heard that Owens only told his wife about his late-night trip to Preston after police informed the couple of the discovery.
He claimed Carla had asked him to bring her incontinence pants and help tidy her room.
Prosecutors allege the explanation was an attempt to “cover his tracks” and “keep his wife onside”.
Janina had last seen her Romania-born daughter three days before her death, when they met for an early birthday meal at a Korean restaurant in Preston.
She had travelled by train from Hartlepool on February 1 because Carla was due to fly to Romania on her birthday to meet her online boyfriend in person for the first time.
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Owens joined them later, arriving by car.
Owens was also filmed parking his Ford Puma near Carla’s accommodation at about 4am on February 4 after driving from the family home in Hartlepool
Carla’s body was found at Ribble Hall, her University of Lancashire accommodation in Preston, on February 5 after her mother raised the alarm
Further footage shown to the jury today shows Owens and Carla both staring at their phones after being left alone at the table during dinner.
Owens later drove home to Hartlepool with Ms Georgescu.
But the prosecution allege he returned to Carla’s flat in the early hours of February 4, without telling his wife, after giving the teenager a story about having to collect her mother’s purse.
He allegedly then brutally attacked Carla before fleeing the scene, dumping evidence and attempting to cover his tracks.
Owens, whose DNA was found at the scene, was arrested the day after her body was found.
Also today the jury heard how Carla had battled depression after arriving in the UK when she was 12.
She had also endured pain for some years due to suffering from endometriosis, abnormal tissue growth around the womb.
In the month before she died, she had accessed NHS mental health services and answered ‘yes’ when asked in an online triage questionnaire if she was thinking about ending her life.
But when contacted by a doctor and asked if she was suicidal, she said she was ‘OK now’ and was advised to consult her GP so she could be treated for her depression.
The prosecution allege that Owens had become ‘sexually fixated’ with Carla and her death was the culmination of weeks, months and perhaps years of a ‘one-sided sexual obsession’.
He is said to have taken photos of Carla without her knowledge, filmed himself having sex with her dolls and toys, one of which was a life-sized ‘effigy’ that he had clothed in her nightdress, and manipulated an innocent image of her so it appeared sexual.
Owens also allegedly made videos of him using sex toys and accessed further images of Carla ‘deriving sexual satisfaction’ from them.
He denies charges of murder, intentional strangulation, and grievous bodily harm with intent.
The trial continues.
