Murdered student Samantha Josephson apparently got into suspect's car thinking it was Uber ride

[pnwmom]

Source: abc7/AP

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Police arrested a man Saturday in connection with the death of a college student who apparently got into the suspect's car thinking it was her Uber ride.

Nathaniel David Rowland, 24, was arrested early Saturday after a police officer noticed him driving a black Chevy Impala, the same type of car that Samantha Josephson got into as she left a bar shortly after 2 a.m. Friday in the city of Columbia's 5 Points area, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said at a news conference.

Rowland tried to run, but the officer was able to catch up to him, Holbrook said. When they returned to the car, he said, the officer saw what appeared to be blood in the car.

"We believe ... that she simply mistakenly got into this particular car thinking it was an Uber ride," Holbrook said of Josephson, noting that surveillance video captured her getting into the car. "She opened the door and got into it and departed with the suspect driving."


Read more: https://abc7.com/murdered-student-apparently-got-into-suspects-car-thinking-it-was-her-uber/5227084/

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If taking Uber or Lyft, always check the car's license place to make sure it's the correct one.

[DRoseDARs]

1. "as she left a bar shortly after 2 a.m." Sadly, your advice probably wouldn't have helped her.

I know Lyft has those little light-up things, don't know about Uber that I've ever noticed (I self-drive, don't use either service) but I doubt even that would have helped if she was too intoxicated to know the difference.

[pnwmom]

3. Maybe not, but sober people are also at risk and need to be reminded. nt

[TheBlackAdder]

38. I wonder if some ex-drivers of Uber & Lyft keep those lights, or claim they were stolen to use later

[Squinch]

8. Why do you think she was too intoxicated to know the difference? Was she wearing a short skirt, too?

[DRoseDARs]

11. "as she left a bar shortly after 2 a.m." I mean, it's *right* there...

You're right, there's no chance she had been drinking at a bar until 2am, she was likely leaving a Scrabble tournament with her grandparents.

Christ, get a grip. This wasn't victim blaming. If she had been a he, and he had been drinking, he would still likely have been intoxicated and might not have noticed the difference in the blurry dark of 2am between the ride he was expecting and the ride that would ultimately lead to his death.

This was about the effect of alcohol on anyone's ability to function on all cylinders and catch critical details, not what sex organs they have. Maybe you can ace an SAT after you've knocked back a few, but most people would be running into issues. This is why we don't drive drunk. Reaction times are slowed, details are missed, makes people drowsy. What happened after she got in that vehicle was absolutely the fault of the driver, but before then the victim was likely not in a state to properly assess what car they were getting in. That's not hers or anyone's fault, that's simply the effect of alcohol.

[Squinch]

13. Do you never go to a bar and socialize with your friends without getting "too intoxicated to

know the difference?' Even *GASP* until two in the morning?

Personally, I do that a lot, though I seldom drink.

Christ, you get a grip. It most certainly IS victim blaming. You are assuming she was too drunk to know what she was doing. You are assuming she was not circumspect enough to avoid her murder.

You have no reason to think she had even one drink, much less enough to make her "too intoxicated to know the difference." You assumed. And you continue to assume, though you have no reason to.

[Squinch]

15. LOL! You don't drink because I pointed out that you were victim blaming? That's fascinating!

[DRoseDARs]

16. "I don't drink period because of what it does to people and because of people like you. nt"

I mean, you can keep projecting or whatever, but I said what I said regardless of what you think.

[Squinch]

18. You have a lovely day, dear!

[DRoseDARs]

24. Clear skies, lovely pools, helping a friend w/her mom, then my own. All while sober. Yeah I'm good.

[Squinch]

32. For the record, I did not alert on any of your posts, and your hide did not come from me.

But out of curiosity, why are you feeling the need to tell me you will be sober today? Are you assuming I will not? Did you miss the part where I told you I seldom drink?

[LisaL]

17. Assuming someone leaving the bar at 2 am was drinking at that bar isn't that big of

an assumption.

[DRoseDARs]

21. Clearly it is. You're victim blaming now too, apparently. Welcome to the club. There's fresh coffee.

So glad I don't drink. It warps your views on alcohol even when you aren't drinking.

[Squinch]

22. But it is an assumption, and concluding that they were "too intoxicated to know the difference,"

implying they might have avoided their own murder if they had not been "too intoxicated to know the difference" is an even bigger assumption.

[McKim]

34. Deciding to Get Drunk is Not a Good Decision

Deciding to get drunk is not a good decision. Our colleges are awash in alcohol. That’s why I sent my daughter to college in NYC where there are plenty of fascinating and real entertainments and youth are less likely to turn to booze for amusement.

Maybe this Uber and Lyft thing is not so good for society. I support taxi businesses though I pay more. Remember taxi drivers are safer and they have insurance and they are identifiable. Also they are union. The destruction of the taxi business leaves many drivers looking at suicide. It is or was a way to support a family, a family wage job. So consider taking a taxi.

[Squinch]

35. Again, why are you assuming she was drunk?

[obamanut2012]

40. lulzzzzzzzzzzzzz

All of this is hysterical.

[moriah]

36. Still, drunk or sober, being the victim of a crime ain't the victim's fault.

I've made mistakes sober.

Do you want to know how many Honda Civics exist that are my same color/model in my state? How many times I just gave up looking at license plates and just used my keychain to make my headlights blink to make sure I found the right one when I was in a parking garage? Fortunately that worked for me, she didn't have that option.

It's on the person who decides they think they have the right to take a life, not the person who made a mistake and got into the wrong car.

[obamanut2012]

39. I very rarely drink, so wouldn/t have been drunk

In college, a friend of ours never, ever drank because he medically couldn't.

[karynnj]

30. Why are YOU attacking this victim?

This is a tragedy that - yes - could have been avoided had she checked the license plate. However, the fact that she called an uber or Lyft - as she likely had many times before, to safely return home rather than drive herself, after drinking.

[barbtries]

4. i also always say "Hi Joe" and the driver says "hi Barbara"

and then we drive.
and i am suddenly offended by myself. it is NOT her fault that she was murdered. Murderers and predators are a blight.

[pnwmom]

5. Of course it wasn't her fault. But for the rest of us, this is a good reminder.

Taxicabs were always identifiable. With Ubers and lyft vehicles, you should pay attention to the license plate.

[barbtries]

6. and make sure the driver knows your name. nt

[pnwmom]

10. Yes! Another good idea!

[Dave Starsky]

19. I would do the name thing before you even get in the car.

Once you're actually IN the car with the person, it's too late.

[barbtries]

27. i do.

[secondwind]

7. I was recently in New York, and took Uber several times.

They never failed to roll down the window and ask “are you ......?”

I think this is standard procedure? But what if a person lies and says “yes”

[Lucky Luciano]

28. Then you will be driven to the wrong location!

Multiple people could be getting an Uber at the same corner.

[karynnj]

31. That could put the driver at risk if some bad person was the one to answer - yes.

For the customer, the driver is providing information that he/she otherwise would not have. Once a person says "yes", I wonder if there is a question of where they want to go. I actually think we have been asked that, but am not sure.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. A Question

I've never done either shares because I live in a small town, don't go out much at night and can drive or walk pretty much anywhere.
So...
Do these companies have the car license plate # on their confirmation text? Wouldn't that be the best way to assure one has the right car?

My concern is that this situation is ripe for copycats.

[TexasBushwhacker]

12. Yes

They show you the make, model and color of the car too.

[LisaL]

20. Company sends description of a car and a license plate.

And a photo of driver.
Maybe the car looked similar to the real uber car, who knows.

[barbtries]

29. they do.

they also have a photo of the car and the driver. however. some states do not require front license tags. once my driver had gotten a new car but Uber had not updated his profile. and so on.

i traveled for work for most of last year and Uber'd everywhere in Baltimore and Philly. at a busy hotel there might be several Ubers rolling up at one time. so safety aside, the habit was established of checking the make of the car and verifying the driver's name and that the driver knew my name.

also consider that the Uber only knows to pick you up because you requested a car and the request was transmitted to the driver, so the opportunity for copy cats would be severely limited.

[ProfessorGAC]

37. Thanks To All 3 Of You

I used to travel tons for my job but it was almost always rental car. And if not, it was cab because those services didn't exist.
The last 10 years I traveled, it was almost 100% Avis time

[Farmer-Rick]

23. Well, he could have been her ride.

There's nothing stopping a serial murderer or rapist from getting a job driving for Uber or Lyft. Serial murderers have been known to have a lot of different jobs including taxi driver. Many types of criminals hide their crimes well.

[LisaL]

25. He wasn't. She got into the wrong car.

[Farmer-Rick]

33. I understand but it does not preclude it from happening.

[Squinch]

26. That is true, and fairly terrifying that this could be possible, though it is not the case here.

[Blue_Tires]

41. So this guy must have killed before, right??

This is just a really weird and random way for someone who's never murdered before to claim their first victim...

[obamanut2012]

43. I winder that, too -- they usually don't escalate like that

[treestar]

44. Very opportunistic killer

Maybe he waited there trying to be mistaken for an Uber.