COLUMBIA, S.C. — The man accused of killing a University of South Carolina student who got into his car thinking it was her Uber ride has been denied bond.
Nathaniel Rowland appeared in court Tuesday morning via a video conference call.
Rowland has been held in jail since he was arrested last year and charged with kidnapping and murder in the death of 21-year-old Samantha Josephson of Robbinsville, N.J.
Authorities say the USC student got into Rowland’s car in Columbia's Five Points on March 29, 2019 and was trapped because he had turned on the child locks in his backseat so the doors could only be opened from the outside.
Her body was found a day later in a wooded, remote area of Clarendon County. Rowland was arrested hours later after his car was spotted in Five Points by a police officer.
Josephson's family spoke during the hearing, which was held via computer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They begged the judge to keep Rowland behind bars.