Guilty verdict reached for monster who killed stepdaughter at University of Lancashire
He was found guilty today.
A man ‘sexually obsessed’ with his stepdaughter has been found guilty of murdering her at her university halls of residence in Preston the day before her 20th birthday.
Nathan Owens, 34, travelled to the University of Lancashire in Preston from his home in Hartlepool in the early hours of February 4, 2026, to attack and strangle Carla Georgescu.
Her body was found in her room the following day, after her mother raised the alarm when she could not contact her.
As a stepfather, he had the unique responsibility of being welcommed into a family. He abused that responsibility and trust by being sexually obsessed with his 19-year-old stepdaughter, before going on murder her.
Carla Georgescu had her whole life ahead of her, she was described as intelligent, gentle and articulate. She was a student in Preston, studying Clinical Psychology at undergraduate, with plans for the future to take post-graduate studies in Romania.
Carla had friends, in fact, she was meant to travel to Romania the day after she was found, with her friend to meet her boyfriend the first time.
The weekend before she was killed, Carla’s mum came to Preston to stay with her – they shopped together, went out for dinner and stayed in Carla’s halls. On the Sunday, Owens travelled from their home in Hartlepool to meet them and they went out for dinner to celebrate Carla’s upcoming birthday.
At around 9pm on February 1st, Carla and her mum said goodbye. Neither of them knew that this would be the last time they saw each other.
Unbenknownst to Carla or her mum, Owens had harboured a sexual obsession with her. He had doctored childhood photographs of her to make them indecent images, he had photographed her without her knowledge in their house, and he had filmed himself carrying out sexual acts, on occasion in Carla’s bedroom, and with what can only be described as an effigy.
In the early hours of November 4, Owens travelled again to Preston. He didn’t tell Carla’s mum that he was leaving, or where he was going. She had gone to sleep thinking her daughter was safe.
Owens messaged Carla, pretending that he and her mum were coming pick up a purse her mum had left behind – that was a lie.
Two and a half hours later, he parked in a side street, rather than his usual parking space at the halls of residence. He then covered his head with a blanket, and was let in to the halls by Carla, who still thought he was coming to pick up her mum’s purse.
The CCTV of Carla letting Owens in was the last time she was seen alive.
Owens followed Carla to her room where he subjected her to a violent and sexual assault and killed her. He then staged the scene to look like Carla had taken her own life. He drove home, disposing of evidence on the way, then walked through his front door as though nothing had happened.
After initial enquiries by police, Owens was arrested on suspicion of Carla's murder. He was charged with that offence, as well as a count of assault causing grievous bodily harm. He was later charged with two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and taking an indecent photograph of a child. Carla is the victim of all of these charges.
Owens pleaded not guilty to the murder, meaning that the evidence of his crimes, and of Carla’s final moments were played out in court. He chose not to give evidence in the trial, offering no explanation for his actions.
Today, after hearing all of the evidence, and deliberating for just over three hours, a jury convicted him of Carla’s murder. He previously admitted to the counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.
He will appear back in the dock tomorrow to be sentenced.
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: “Carla was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her, a life that was taken away by someone she should have been able to trust.
“We want to make sure that her story is told.”