'Obsessed' Stepfather Is Sorry After Killing 19-Year-Old Stepdaughter. He Had Filmed Himself With an Effigy Dressed in Her Clothes

An "obsessed" stepfather murdered his 19-year-old stepdaughter after his "perverted sexual obsession" with her.

Carla Georgescu, a second-year psychology student at the University of Lancashire, was found dead in her room at her hall of residence in Victoria Street, Preston, on her 20th birthday, on February 5.

Nathan Owens, 34, was found guilty in the case on Thursday. He had reportedly subjected her to a "violent and sexual assault" and killed her after travelling from Hartlepool to her place in the early hours of February 4.

He then staged the scene, trying to make it seem like Georgescu had taken her own life.

A three-week trial followed the murder, which concluded with a jury at Preston Crown Court convicting Owens of murder, assault causing grievous bodily harm, and intentional strangulation after deliberating for just over three hours, per Lancashire Live.

His sentencing is scheduled for Friday.

The accused had previously admitted two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child, with his deceased stepdaughter also becoming the victim of those offences.

Owens had also filmed himself having intercourse with an effigy adorned with her clothes and made other recordings of himself performing s-- acts with stuffed toys.

On February 1, Owens joined his wife Janina and stepdaughter in Hartlepool for a meal at Kimji Korean restaurant.

After the meal, the pair dropped Georgescu off at her accommodation before returning together to the east coast.

But in the early hours of February 4, Owens travelled again to Preston without Janina's knowledge, messaging his stepdaughter pretending that he and her mother were coming to her place to pick up a purse her mother had left behind.

As seen in the CCTV footage, Owens made his way to her student accommodation with a blanket covering his head and entered the building after Georgescu let him in.

That was when he reportedly murdered her, as the student was never seen alive again after that incident.

When the police showed up at her door, they discovered Georgescu slumped against her wardrobe on February 5. She had injuries to her head, defensive marks on her hands, and sexual injuries.

While Owens disposed of some evidence, including Carla's red pyjama bottoms, his DNA was traced on her body, the floor, and a blanket in her room.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lumley KC told jurors during the trial: "Her death was the culmination, the end point, of weeks, months and perhaps years of a one-sided sexual obsession."

Owens had also reportedly doctored childhood pictures of Georgescu to create indecent images, and even snapped photos of her without her knowledge at their family home in Hartlepool.

Det Insp Pete Macdonald, of Lancashire Police's Major Investigation Team, said on Thursday: "Owens had a despicable, perverted sexual obsession with his stepdaughter, an obsession that ended with him killing her. He has now been brought to justice for his crimes."