Part 2: She Got Into The Wrong 'Uber' | Samantha Josephson

I'm trying to give you information from all directions, everything that's going on. So while this is going on, Officer Justin Asiya had hurried that way when he heard the call, and he was the one that intercepted the driver on foot. Tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club, saving up to 25% off grocery store prices. Beef jerky, microwave meals, laundry pods, even they can't screw up. Have you met my kids? And with BJ's gas, she gets there for less. They call me the road warrior. This is your home, road warrior mom. Home of the Save. Join for just $20 at bjs.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer, new members only. BJ's, home of the Save. He was able to catch up to him and arrest the driver around 2.36 a.m. Running from the police is an arrestable offense. So he frisked the driver for weapons and none were found. The officers were evaluating the situation and trying to gain info about why this man ran. The driver did. State he was sick, that he had the flu and that he was having trouble breathing. So they did have to call the EMTs to come check him out. That's protocol safety first. It's a big priority. So the officers let the driver sit down so that he could catch his breath and he could breathe better while they were waiting for the EMTs to get there. And this is the point where they also read him his Miranda rights, but the driver refused to answer any questions, even a yes or no about whether he understood the Miranda rights, but he would not answer. But that's something he did. He did need to answer. But after that, not speaking is his Fifth Amendment right. But he didn't even respond to the EMTs questions when they were trying to check him out and his vitals were being taken. At one point, the driver is just laying on the ground looking like he's having issues breathing. The officers just think, yeah, he's, he just has some issues because he was just running. So the officers start to rub his sternum per protocol, sit him up so he can breathe better, like I said, but the driver would still not speak to EMS workers. And it didn't really seem like the right thing to do because he wasn't in the right place to talk to the EMTs. So the EMTs were able to get him to the ambulance to get him fully checked out. But they were thinking this must be some kind of act that he wasn't really hurt, especially because he's not talking. Then he finally says he wants to speak to an investigator. So investigator Lee Blackman was summoned to the five points area. Blackman explained to this man that is now handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle that he was there to speak to him. The man asked the officer why he was being detained. During a traffic stop. The man nodded and said he knew that. Investigator Blackman also told him that marijuana was found inside the car, which was enough to keep him in custody. Things that were confiscated were his phone and bandanas were taken from his head at this time. The driver of the Impala refused to give law enforcement his name. So officers started taking pictures of him. They were trying to do facial recognition, scanning his fingerprints to determine who he was. And ultimately they find out. That Nathaniel Roland was his name and he was 24 years old. So while waiting in five points for Nathaniel to be brought to the station. Investigator Blackman asked him where he was the night before. Nathaniel told the investigator he had been at a party at an apartment near the university and slept in the Stadium Suites Hotel. He explains to the investigator that he found his car in the hotel parking lot when he woke up that morning. When Nathaniel opened the door, he said that his car was bloodstained. Nathaniel told the investigator that the car was bloodstained. He explained that so someone must have borrowed it. Investigator Blackman walked over to the vehicle to inspect it and he saw just how much blood had to have been in that car. His first thought was this is where Samantha died. During Nathaniel's interrogation investigator Blackman asked him if he had traveled to the Five Points area the night before and he told the investigator he was at a house party and he would not provide specific information about who he was with or where. Nathaniel also denied ever visiting New Zion where Samantha's body was found. New Zion as I explained was a small town. It was not a place someone would consider dumping a body unless they were familiar with it. At this point Blackman explained to Nathaniel that a young woman was abducted from Five Points around 2 a.m on Friday. Nathaniel refused to answer any further questions. They did collect a swab of suspected blood off of a shoe as well as scrapings from under his fingernails but before the investigator left the room he told Nathaniel to reflect on the past two days and to tell the truth. Nathaniel asked the investigator what he was talking about before shaking his head and saying that he was just going to go to sleep. The investigator was determined not to get tunnel vision and to think we have our man. Instead law enforcement had to investigate and find out where Nathaniel was and to do their due diligence to ensure that Samantha was given the justice that she deserved. That's when they located the Uber driver who had been requested to pick Samantha up at Five Points the night she went missing. His name is Marcus Williams. Marcus told investigators he was 49 years old, married, from Columbia, South Carolina, went to school there, worked for the city for 10 years until he was injured. That's when he began driving for Uber. All he said he had to do to get started was to send his driver's license, registration, and a copy of his insurance. He told them he had a charcoal gray Dodge Charger at the time. Then they do a background check and either approve or deny you and he was approved and he began working. He drove his 2011 Dodge Charger. He had been driving for three or four months at a time that Samantha requested a ride. He accepted that ride and he drove out to Five Points to pick up Samantha. He had a five-star rating. His car was always clean. He always got good tips and he was a good driver and in case you're not familiar with Uber don't be ashamed if you've never heard of it or you haven't taken one. I realize there are a lot of drivers out there who want to get a ride, but they don't want to get a ride, so I'm going to show you how to get a ride. The first thing you need to provide is your legal name or your Facebook account. Last time I checked, then all you do is open the app, put in the address of the destination you want to go to, and once the app connects with an authorized and approved driver that works for them, they get an alert and you get an alert with the driver's information. You usually get their name, the color of the vehicle, the model of their car, their rating, and you can even cancel if you want for whatever reason. But it's important not to do that frequently because it can reflect badly on your rating. Marcus heard that the Five Points area was a very busy location for college kids, so he frequently worked there. He was actually just ending a ride from another person in the Five Points area when he got another alert that Samantha needed a ride. Marcus said he was diligent. He always called the person right when he got the alert to let them know he was on the way. So he called Samantha when he was on Hardin and Devine right here and she did not answer. So Marcus circled around. He usually gave people five to ten minutes as a grace period because, you know, they're at bars, they're maybe cashing out, maybe they're talking, maybe they're walking slower, you know, they've maybe had a few drinks. After the app realizes that you were at the destination and you've not picked up the rider, it will send an alert to cancel the ride. So as he circled again and again a couple times, he had to cancel. He said he never picked her up. Never to his knowledge. Had he ever seen her or had she ever been in his car? Marcus did give them a DNA sample and they let him go and they told him they would call him back in if they needed him. So using the information that Samantha's parents gave them, investigators searched her bank records. That was the next thing they wanted to do. Have you met my kid? Home of the save. Open soon. And they realized that there were several attempts where someone was trying to use her ATM card at a couple banks. One was 45 miles away from Columbia and twice at another bank in Sumner County. This was very early in the year. And they realized that there were several attempts early in the morning on Friday, 5.45 AM Sumter and 6.48 AM in Columbia. With a search warrant, the investigators obtained CCTV footage from the ATMs and they showed a man wearing dark clothing, gloves. He was clearly trying to conceal his identity. His hoodie was so tight around his face. Look at this. And his face was hidden by a mask. This is what they saw. And this man was unable to withdraw any money from the ATMs because he did not have the correct pin. They zoomed in and they can tell he's wearing a bandana with a money design on it. He's wearing a black jacket, gloves, a beige shirt underneath, and a black hoodie underneath this black jacket with a white drawstring and black Nike slides. Crime scene investigators begin searching the Chevy Impala and processing all of the evidence. Investigators were able to search the vehicle much more closely after they obtained that warrant. And first, they do notice the child locks were engaged, indicating that Samantha couldn't have escaped. Once she stepped into that car, Samantha would not have been able to open the doors or roll down the windows. The entire interior of this car was covered in blood. It had permeated the seats. Lieutenant Kristen Grant said that she had never in her life seen so much blood in the 25 years of being an officer. Never. In Nathaniel's car, investigators found a footprint on a window and it appeared as though whoever left it there was trying to kick it open. So they lifted those prints for analysis. Lab workers with SLED arrived early that morning to test the evidence they found in the Chevy Impala and obtain a DNA profile. The results confirmed what the investigators had suspected. The blood inside the Impala belonged to Samantha Josephson and that footprint that was hers as well. Clearly she was fighting for her life. Meanwhile investigators tried to access Samantha and Nathaniel's cell phones. They wanted to find out where they were that night and it turned out Nathaniel and Samantha's phones traveled the same route out of Columbia up Highway 378 toward where the hunters found Samantha's body in New Zion. The Columbia police chief gave Samantha's family an update telling them they believed they had captured the suspect and even though Seymour and Marcy were relieved, Marcy still felt like it wasn't real. She was waiting for Samantha to come home. Sydney, Samantha's sister, flew to South Carolina to attend a vigil that was held by the University of South Carolina in New York. Samantha's sister, Samantha's sister, flew to South Carolina to attend a vigil that was held by the University of South Carolina in New York. In memory of Samantha, their dad said, I can't tell you how painful this is. Samantha was alone. She had no chance. None. He urged the students at this memorial to be vigilant when they were out late and to always travel in pairs and I have to agree. I know it's hard. I've definitely taken rides alone but I would say the same. Travel in pairs at the very least. Marcy told the crowd she would never come to terms with this. There was no time to sit and say goodbye or to hold Samantha's hand. Nevertheless, Marcy said she was choosing to remember Samantha as a beautiful girl instead of what happened to her in her final moments. When Samantha walked into a room, her friend said that everyone felt happier. Samantha's sorority sisters described her as the next Amal Clooney because they knew that she would excel in the field of international law and Greg talked about how his girlfriend had impacted her. Samantha's sister, Samantha's sister, said that she was attracted to so many people with her positive attitude and her energy during her short stay on this planet. Investigators reviewed Samantha's autopsy results when the medical examiner was finished and that report revealed just how much poor Samantha had been through that fateful night. She suffered over 100 stab wounds. The interesting and equally confusing thing about these wounds is that the medical examiner knew that they were from some sort of sharp object with a single blade but others were made with something else. An unknown sharp weapon. It seemed to have parallel blades of some kind and he thought, were there two weapons? The medical examiner was stumped. The wounds were small. They were about two inches deep. So two inch blades in length. But the double stab wounds were very close together and the exact distance from one another in every double wound of its kind. He scoured the internet searching through thousands of photos on Google to try to find a knife with two blades. He found a knife with two blades. He knew that if they could find this unique looking weapon and they could match it to Samantha's stab wounds and locate it, they could find the killer. She had wounds everywhere. On her head, her neck, shoulders, arms, legs, even her feet. There were defensive wounds to her hands. The one in the palm of her right hand went all the way through to the other side. And this is most likely because she instinctively put her hand up to shield her face as this killer swung the weapon at her. Now, Notably, one of the wounds was through her ear and it went into her neck. Those wounds in her neck were most likely the cause of her death. She did have a defect on the hyoid bone on the right side, but they believed it was from a stab wound, not strangulation. The neck wounds impacted the carotid artery and the jugular vein, and wounds of that nature would have caused a significant amount of blood loss. And this coincided with the amount of blood that was left behind in the black impala. There was only an eighth of a cup of blood left in her body at the time. I want to show you how much this is on the screen. The human body usually holds four to five liters of blood, so about a gallon of blood. The medical examiner had a hard time getting enough blood for a toxicology test. This poor woman bled out. That is how Samantha spent her last moments on Earth. With a stranger who kidnapped her, locked her in a car, trapped her in this confined space, and attacked her with an unusual, sharp-bladed weapon hundreds of times. It's absolutely gut-wrenching to think about. I take Ubers all the time. Most of you do, too, to think that this poor girl innocently got into this monster's car, hoping that he was taking her home safely, only to realize that she was living out her absolute worst nightmare. Seymour spoke with the prosecutors that were handling Samantha's case, and he asked for the death penalty for the killer. He said that he wanted to see him fry. But his family advised him that this wasn't the time. They had to think about Samantha. They had to plan for her funeral. That's not what Seymour wanted. He didn't want to bury his child. Samantha should have been at his funeral, not the other way around. So in the days following Samantha's murder, the University of South Carolina offered extended counseling hours and ride-share safety tips. There was a vigil at the West Town Center Lake Gazebo in New Jersey for Samantha as well. About 500 people showed up to honor. As mourners lit white candles, one of her cousins sang I'll Never Love Again by Lady Gaga. Greg, Samantha's boyfriend, told the crowd that he's always imagined himself coming here 10 years from now with Samantha and their friends and family. And now that would never happen. He said there were no words for what happened. Samantha's funeral was at Congregation Beth Kayim, where she had her bat mitzvah. On April 5th, 2019, the Jewish community at USC honored Samantha. With a Shabbat candle ceremony. I'm doing my best to try to pronounce these Hebrew words. But about 30 people were in attendance. And a rabbi led the attendees in the traditional dinner. And a symbolic donation to the charity was made in a reading from Psalm 23. Many students and organizations on campus held vigils for Samantha. But this ceremony was one that the Jewish faith lit candles every Friday evening for. In tradition to light the candles and perform good deeds in memory of those who have passed away. Samantha was very active in the Jewish community at the University of South Carolina. She attended many of these services and even larger events such as Rosh Hashanah. Uber also released a statement following Samantha's brutal murder. In an email sent to the state, a South Carolina newspaper, a spokesperson for the ride share company said, quote, since 2017, we've been working with local law enforcement and college campuses around the country to educate the public about how to avoid fake ride share drivers. Everyone at Uber is devastated to hear about this unspeakable crime and our hearts are with Samantha's family and loved ones. We remain focused on raising public awareness about this incredibly important issue, end quote. Among the evidence found in Nathaniel's vehicle was an envelope. It looked like it had a shopping list on it. One of the items on the list, duct tape. And it said, tape, whole, body. Next was gloves, all black. Flip phone. Vaseline. Matches. And then there's also a crossed out line where you can't decipher what was being written there. An eviction notice was also found in the glove compartment. It was written from someone named Maria Howard and a Wendy's receipt from 6992 Garner's Ferry Road from March 29th at 1238 was found. So Investigator Fisher goes to that location to retrieve video and the video shows Nathaniel Rowland in his car wearing a head covering. And there's a white sheet covering the headrest and the backseat of his vehicle. However, they can't see Samantha in the car. On April 3rd, while Nathaniel Rowland was still in jail on the unrelated traffic charges, investigators wanted to quickly obtain a arrest warrant for Samantha's murder. So SLED investigator Lee Blackman and an officer from Columbia PD drove to the address listed on that eviction notice, Maria Howard's. When they arrive at Maria's, they knock on unit C. They knock on unit C. Maria comes to the door and she's completely cooperative with police. They told her they found the eviction notice in Nathaniel Rowland's black Impala. They want to know if she knew him and if so, how. She tells the investigators that Nate is her boyfriend and she agrees to go down to the police station. However, Maria does inform them she has not slept in a couple days. She pulled all-nighters that work at McDonald's and she was pretty delirious. She told them that she would do her very best to provide them with as much information. As she could in regard to what she knew about Nate, she was questioned for hours, but she was too tired to recall details. She needed sleep, so they agreed to let her come back in in a couple days to reinterview her and good thing they did because she had a lot to tell them this poor girl, honestly, I feel so bad for people who get into these horrific situations on account of being a loving, caring person who gets involved with the wrong individual. There's going to be a lot of people who get involved with the wrong individual. There's going to be a lot to take in here, but this is what they find out. Maria Howard was 24 years old. She lived in Columbia for the past 10 years and she moved there in high school and then she went to college in Denmark, South Carolina. At that point in life, it was all about partying on a regular basis and when she came back home, she would party at Five Points on the weekends. She, just like Samantha and Greg, met Nate when she was at Five Points with her friends one weekend. They were friends. They didn't just jump into a relationship and they actually lost contact for a while, but they were friends. They reconnected when he stopped by McDonald's when her shift had just ended back in the beginning of March. She was working at a McDonald's in Garness Ferry, across from Rosewood. Hank joined BJ's whole family. sale club the day he became a father of 30 I coach football now coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices 30 pounds of pasta three cases of protein bars 75 sports drinks and that's just pregame he knows teamwork and BJ's knows savings this is your home coach home of the save join for just $20 at bjs.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months open soon limited time offer new members only BJ's home of the save and this was like I said in the beginning of March he drove up through the drive-thru and then he pulled up next to her and he's like hey girl and she couldn't believe it she hadn't seen him in a couple years so they chit-chatted for a bit they exchanged phone numbers and he asked her what she was doing that night she explained that she had just recently moved into a new duplex and she was just waiting for a ride home from a co-worker well Nate insisted that she let him give her a ride home she didn't have a car so she was used to getting rides from other people and she knew Nate so she accepted the ride he took back to her duplex in Mountain Brook which was about 25 to 30 minutes away and they hung out for a bit and then Nate went home but they definitely hit it off and they were inseparable from that day forward they started seeing each other every single day after that they were dating at this point and in a sexual relationship so Nate was there all the time but he didn't live with her he actually lived with his sister however Maria hated being home alone so she was letting her letter well her cousin hadn't been following her role she wasn't cleaning she wasn't taking care of things and now that nate was around maria wanted her out she felt like her cousin had to go so she typed up that eviction letter and she was planning to get it notarized maria also had a four-year-old daughter that lived in the duplex with her but she spent a lot of time with her grandma who was a school teacher they would share responsibilities like taking her and picking her up from preschool now that nate was in the picture maria would have him drive her to the preschool so she could go get her daughter and to run other errands in addition to taking her to work at mcdonald's and picking her up and he would always do that for her as well as just be there for her at night or in the morning because like i said she didn't like to be alone however they did just start dating so nate did still go out with his friends from time to time especially to five points he referred to it as being lit this was one of his favorite places to party he would go out maybe a couple times a week but maria couldn't she had to work she had to work a lot and frequently she would pull double shifts and she just wasn't interested in that life anymore instead they would just hang out all day watch tv eat but she wouldn't go out with him to bars together the first couple weeks they were dating she explained to investigators that nate slept downstairs on the couch maria wasn't keen on letting him stay in bed with her but as they got more serious she finally began letting him sleep with her around the third week they were together which was around that third week of march maria told gator blackman that on wednesday march 27 2019 maria had reminded nate she had to go to work at 7 00 a.m the next day and all of her work shirts were dirty she didn't have a washer and dryer so she needed to drive to her mom's house to use the washer but her mom wasn't home it was getting later and maria had other things to do that night she didn't know how she was going to get her work shirt cleaned and nate said don't worry about it that he'd take it to his sister's house that night and have it for her in the morning she and nate spent the evening at her house watching tv until she went to bed around 12 or 1 that morning at that time nate was downstairs watching tv and investigators asked her what he was wearing she says he was wearing a gray nike hoodie shirt and navy blue sweatpants that were the windbreaker type she expected him to come to bed when he was finished watching tv but when she woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom she could tell he wasn't there he had gone out she didn't know where maria gets up early for work around 5 a.m she notices nate did not come home the night before she knew because the bed was the same exact way she left it he never got into it and he wasn't in the house and his car wasn't outside so she texted him at 5 31 saying where he at and there was no answer she was pretty upset as time went on because he had promised to come pick her up and had he not done that she would have found another ride she did not like to and she didn't appreciate his inconsiderate behavior she was stressing over the eviction with her cousin not having enough money for rent and she needed to get that shift she was even texting a friend telling them that she was crying thinking about how she was going to come up with her rent money in just a couple days so seven o'clock rolls around maria is now late for work it's at least a 25 to 30 minute drive and nate hadn't shown up yet so she texted him again at seven to one saying bae i'm late as f for work still no response and she's pissed she calls her mom letting her know that she may need a ride and that she was mad and that's when she sees nate's car pull in around 7 45 or so she runs out there upset asking him where have you been where's my shirt and he doesn't even answer instead he drives off saying i gotta go to my sisters to take my nephew to school i'll be right back but maria's confused because at this point she's upset she knows his sister's house is like 30 minutes away and then he would need to bring the nephew to school and then come all the way back to her it made no sense then about 10 minutes later not enough time for him to do what he said he needed to get done he pulls back into maria's driveway with her shirt and it's still wet almost like it doesn't even seem clean almost like it was rinsed what the hell is going on she doesn't know she doesn't care she just wants to get to work so she gets in this car she puts the envelope containing the eviction letter into his glove compartment for safekeeping until he could take her to the bank to get notarized maria then texts her mom with an update it's at 8 03 in the morning be tried lol my shirt's still wet af you will not be washing clothes ever have a good day ma love you to which her mom responds at 8 21 lol girl you could have done that at home why didn't you go to laundromat and maria responds at 8 48 a.m saying that nate didn't want to maria had also put her mcdonald's uniform visor in the back window of the car the day before so that she could just grab it and put it on as they drove to work but she looks back there and she doesn't see it so she asked nate where's my visor and this is when things got weird he tells her that it's in the country and she said why and he said it had blood on it and when she asked him why would my visor have blood on it he told her to mind her business she again asked him the same question again he told her to mind her business now luckily maria calls her boss told her she's going to be late due to her outfit and the boss said you know what i'm going to do i'm going to what i can provide you with another hat so then they stopped to get gas and that's when maria was actually able to get a minute to look at the car she hadn't really been paying much attention to it but she turns around and looks at the back seat and it was odd there was a white fitted sheet with like a blue design on it that was hanging over the driver's headrest and then draped across the back seat her daughter's baby seat was sitting on top of the sheet kind of holding it down on the right back seat side but what was even more shocking was that she saw what she thought looked like blood on the sheet that it was actually seeping through from underneath and she looked around and saw what appeared to be dry blood on the dashboard on the side of the seats of the car and as she's taking a better look and back she realizes that despite the sheet being there she sees a ton of dried blood on the seats that were not covered with the sheet she's so confused and she's worried but maybe there's an explanation and then when nate gets back in the car she immediately confronts him asking why is there blood all over your car did you hit a dog or something and again he tells her to mind her business okay this is odd it did not make sense but maria's main goal was to get to work and he finally drops her off and promises that he will be back to pick her up later he said that he needed to go clean his car and take a nap so maria had noticed that he did look really tired so she gives him her keys and she tells him to go to sleep and come get me later but he never showed back up after shift ended around 4 pm when the investigators asked her why she didn't call 9-1-1 maria told them she was scared she was fearful of what might happen to her or her child if she didn't mind her business and she didn't exactly know what was going on it wasn't uncommon to hit deers in that area as a matter of fact nate's car had just been serviced for the exact reason just a few weeks before he started dating maria his ex destiny actually hit a deer while she was driving nate around in his car and it destroyed the front bumper which needed to be replaced a co-worker ends up bringing maria home that thursday evening and once again she's mad she banged on the door of her own house hard like it was the police and nate comes down he opens the door and he looked like he just saw a ghost he definitely had been sleeping she could tell so she goes inside she starts getting ready to take a shower and she notices that nate still had on the same clothes he did from wednesday and she thought that was pretty nasty so she said quote why haven't you washed your ass in a couple days and quote to which he didn't respond and this was being playful but she was also pretty serious because it was obvious to maria that nate's clothing had blood on it so when she gets out of the shower she sees him outside cleaning his car scrubbing it when she gets closer she notices smells like chemicals like chlorine but then she sees bleach bleach bottles are in the back seat of the car and nate had gathered up all of her cleaning supplies and he was using them to wash the inside of the vehicle she tells nate that she needs to get to an atm because she needs to get money out for her rent and stop at her mom's and she drives she drives his car while he's in it still cleaning the car he's wiping it down with wipes while he's wearing blue surgical gloves as she's driving and he's sitting there throwing these dirty rags into a grocery bag she looks over and she doesn't want to but she's kind of curious about why so she asks him why are you cleaning and again he tells her to what mind her own business she looks over a few minutes later and he's cleaning a knife-like item and she's seen this item before but she never saw it open like that so it kind of looks like one of those retractable knives or something like that as her eyes are kind of scanning everything in the car she saw a rose gold iphone in this little phone compartment on the center console so she questions him about it because it looks like a female's phone it's in pristine condition even though he insisted he found it somewhere on the ground then he says you know what i'm actually going to give it to you but she didn't want it she already had a phone and she liked androids not iphone so she goes nah i'm good i don't need it they head back to her house to pay her rent her mom was supposed to pick up her daughter but she couldn't so she tells nate they're gonna have to go drive to go pick up her daughter they had the booster seat in the back seat like i had said and nate said he really didn't want her daughter in the car because there was blood but they had no choice they pick up maria's daughter they take her back to the house and when she takes her out of the car there is blood on her shoes so maria takes them off and she throws them into a closet and that just shows you how much blood was inside this vehicle he had already been cleaning it and there's still blood on it later that evening two of nate's friends show up and they're all gonna go out to five points around 12 in the morning as their leaving to get into his car maria literally asked him why would you drive in a car with blood in it he never responded maria told investigators she finally put it all together after samantha had gone missing she did see her picture on the news it was about a day later and then they showed a clip of the black impala and she was stunned it all made sense to her now the blood samantha being missing it was nate's car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she's still in her car she called in and pretended her daughter was ill just so that she could pull herself together the police came to speak with her and that was the day that she pulled that double shift over 12 hours and she told them please i've got to get some sleep so that is where we are right now this was the second interview and she told them everything and this time she let them know every detail she could remember and let them look at her phone and they took it for a while to have it analyzed finally they gave it back to her and she gave them a sample of her dna but according to maria because nathaniel used tons of cleaning supplies to clean the car maria said she thought it would blow up if she lit a cigarette maria also tells them that there's a trash bin in the back of her duplex and nathaniel had been throwing things in there from his car hank joined bj's wholesale club the day he became a father of 30. i coach football now coach hank saves up to 25 off grocery store prices hank joins bj's wholesale club the day he became a father of 30. i coach football now coach hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices prices hank joins bj's wholesale club the day he became a father of 30. i coach football now coach hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices 30 pounds of pasta three cases of 30 pounds of pasta three cases of 30 pounds of pasta three cases of protein bars 75 sports drinks and that's protein bars 75 sports drinks and that's protein bars 75 sports drinks and that's just pre-game he knows teamwork and bj's just pre-game he knows teamwork and bj's just pre-game he knows teamwork and bj's knows savings this is your home coach knows savings this is your home coach knows savings this is your home coach home of the save join for just twenty home of the save join for just twenty home of the save join for just twenty dollars at bj's dot com slash mesquite dollars at bj's dot com slash mesquite dollars at bj's dot com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six and save 10 cents per gallon for six and save 10 cents per gallon for six months open soon limited time offer new months open soon limited time offer new months open soon limited time offer new members only bj's home of the save members only bj's home of the save members only bj's home of the save investigators were very interested in investigators were very interested in investigators were very interested in this information this information this information so when investigator blackman asked so when investigator blackman asked so when investigator blackman asked maria where the garbage bin was she said maria where the garbage bin was she said maria where the garbage bin was she said it's still there the sanitation workers it's still there the sanitation workers it's still there the sanitation workers had not picked it up yet so maria was had not picked it up yet so maria was had not picked it up yet so maria was informed that a search warrant had been informed that a search warrant had been informed that a search warrant had been issued for her home issued for her home issued for her home and a crime scene unit was going to be and a crime scene unit was going to be and a crime scene unit was going to be sent out there to gather evidence they sent out there to gather evidence they sent out there to gather evidence they locate a dumpster in the back of the locate a dumpster in the back of the locate a dumpster in the back of the duplex that anyone can access just by duplex that anyone can access just by duplex that anyone can access just by walking around the building inside this walking around the building inside this walking around the building inside this dumpster dumpster dumpster investigators found cleaning supplies investigators found cleaning supplies bloody sheets towels gloves and the bloody sheets towels gloves and the bloody sheets towels gloves and the worst thing worst thing worst thing is that they find a multi-purpose tool is that they find a multi-purpose tool is that they find a multi-purpose tool it had blood and hair on it it had blood and hair on it it had blood and hair on it we're going to talk about that in a we're going to talk about that in a we're going to talk about that in a moment they also find clothing like a moment they also find clothing like a moment they also find clothing like a beige dress shirt in maria's trash bin beige dress shirt in maria's trash bin beige dress shirt in maria's trash bin and in one of the garbage bags was a and in one of the garbage bags was a and in one of the garbage bags was a leather jacket leather jacket leather jacket with marks on the arms scratch marks with marks on the arms scratch marks with marks on the arms scratch marks investigators are convinced that investigators are convinced that investigators are convinced that nathaniel had that coat on when he was nathaniel had that coat on when he was nathaniel had that coat on when he was stabbing samantha in the back seat of stabbing samantha in the back seat of stabbing samantha in the back seat of his car and that those marks his car and that those marks his car and that those marks were from samantha's fingernails were from samantha's fingernails were from samantha's fingernails investigators noticed that this investigators noticed that this investigators noticed that this multi-purpose tool multi-purpose tool multi-purpose tool which my boyfriend is calling a leather which my boyfriend is calling a leather which my boyfriend is calling a leather man i'm going to show you what a leather man i'm going to show you what a leather man i'm going to show you what a leather man is first and then i'm going to get man is first and then i'm going to get man is first and then i'm going to get into this tool well this tool into this tool well this tool into this tool well this tool had a unique double blade had a unique double blade had a unique double blade they believed they had just found the they believed they had just found the they believed they had just found the murder weapon and tests were conducted murder weapon and tests were conducted murder weapon and tests were conducted on all the items that were discovered on all the items that were discovered on all the items that were discovered samantha's dna matched the blood found on samantha's dna matched the blood found on samantha's dna matched the blood found on these items these items these items and this weapon is actually the scariest and this weapon is actually the scariest and this weapon is actually the scariest weapon i have seen in all the cases that weapon i have seen in all the cases that weapon i have seen in all the cases that i've talked about and i'm not kidding i've talked about and i'm not kidding i've talked about and i'm not kidding maybe since it's smaller and you may maybe since it's smaller and you may maybe since it's smaller and you may disagree but disagree but disagree but if someone were to swing that around if someone were to swing that around if someone were to swing that around it's such a tiny weapon can you imagine it's such a tiny weapon can you imagine it's such a tiny weapon can you imagine how fast it could be jabbed into your how fast it could be jabbed into your skin how many times this was used on skin how many times this was used on skin how many times this was used on samantha it terrifies me samantha it terrifies me samantha it terrifies me it's so portable it folds up it's just it's so portable it folds up it's just it's so portable it folds up it's just this little hidden multi-use tool that this little hidden multi-use tool that this little hidden multi-use tool that can turn into a murder weapon in a can turn into a murder weapon in a can turn into a murder weapon in a second second second look at it it just looks scary the look at it it just looks scary the look at it it just looks scary the blades they're bent at the ends which blades they're bent at the ends which blades they're bent at the ends which signified that he had been used with a signified that he had been used with a signified that he had been used with a great amount of force they noticed it great amount of force they noticed it great amount of force they noticed it can also be opened up like this can also be opened up like this can also be opened up like this that's how it made the single blade that's how it made the single blade that's how it made the single blade wounds and when closed it makes double wounds and when closed it makes double wounds and when closed it makes double without a doubt without a doubt without a doubt this was the murder weapon during an this was the murder weapon during an this was the murder weapon during an analysis of samantha's phone on march analysis of samantha's phone on march analysis of samantha's phone on march 29th an analyst found that it was powered on at a business that bought and sold used cell phones it's called cellular city investigators drive out to cellular city in columbia and they asked the manager if they could look at the cctv footage from that day nathaniel's black chevy impala is spotted pulling into a parking space outside around 11 a.m on the 29th and as investigators watched the footage like maria had said there was that white sheet draped over the back seat and they could see blood stains on it the cctv footage from inside cellular city showed nathaniel holding samantha's rose gold cell phone when he's entering the clerk then examines the phone he plugs it in he sees a white woman on the lock screen suspicious to him and let me be clear it's because he's not a dummy he's seeing people come in with stolen phones nate doesn't seem to know much about the phone he just says he found it or was given to him and the clerk decides uh-uh i'm not buying it upon viewing this video investigators are able to identify nathaniel as the same man who tried to use samantha's bank card at those atms he was wearing the same clothes and they were the same clothing found in maria howard's trash can his girlfriend's trash can in light of all the evidence that investigators had they were able to charge nathaniel roland with kidnapping and the murder of samantha josephson nathaniel denied being involved in samantha's murder one of his cousins trey elmore spoke to samantha josephson nathaniel denied being involved in samantha's murder one of his cousins trey elmore spoke to the state and said nathaniel passed out at the state and said nathaniel passed out at the state and said nathaniel passed out at a party the night before the murder he a party the night before the murder he a party the night before the murder he didn't believe his cousin had anything didn't believe his cousin had anything didn't believe his cousin had anything to do with this crime he doesn't think to do with this crime he doesn't think to do with this crime he doesn't think that his cousin was the one driving the that his cousin was the one driving the that his cousin was the one driving the chevy impala that picked samantha up in chevy impala that picked samantha up in chevy impala that picked samantha up in five points five points five points trey felt that the police only thought it trey felt that the police only thought it trey felt that the police only thought it was nathaniel was nathaniel was nathaniel because he ran from the cops when he was because he ran from the cops when he was because he ran from the cops when he was pulled over also speaking up in pulled over also speaking up in pulled over also speaking up in nathaniel's defense was his own father nathaniel's defense was his own father nathaniel's defense was his own father nathaniel's father said that his son woke nathaniel's father said that his son woke nathaniel's father said that his son woke up without his keys up without his keys up without his keys so someone else must have driven his car so someone else must have driven his car so someone else must have driven his car in a statement to the news his dad said in a statement to the news his dad said in a statement to the news his dad said a weapon during a violent crime and a weapon during a violent crime and a weapon during a violent crime and there were way too many connections there were way too many connections there were way too many connections between samantha and nate for this to between samantha and nate for this to between samantha and nate for this to have been anyone else in the have been anyone else in the have been anyone else in the investigators minds not to mention they investigators minds not to mention they investigators minds not to mention they found a connection between where the found a connection between where the found a connection between where the body was discovered and where he grew up body was discovered and where he grew up body was discovered and where he grew up it turns out samantha was left in that it turns out samantha was left in that it turns out samantha was left in that desolate wooded area desolate wooded area desolate wooded area and it was only two miles from nate's and it was only two miles from nate's and it was only two miles from nate's parents home and new zion parents home and new zion parents home and new zion nate's ex-destiny told investigators that nate's ex-destiny told investigators that nate's ex-destiny told investigators that he had taken her out there at least he had taken her out there at least he had taken her out there at least three or four times that year to meet three or four times that year to meet three or four times that year to meet his family he knew that area and his family he knew that area and his family he knew that area and remember what the dnr worker said the remember what the dnr worker said the remember what the dnr worker said the area where samantha was found area where samantha was found area where samantha was found was like a needle in a haystack only a was like a needle in a haystack only a was like a needle in a haystack only a local would know their way around there local would know their way around there local would know their way around there nate was a local and speaking of mr nate was a local and speaking of mr nate was a local and speaking of mr morris the dnr worker that was called morris the dnr worker that was called morris the dnr worker that was called out by the turkey hunters out by the turkey hunters out by the turkey hunters well mr morris knows the roland family well mr morris knows the roland family well mr morris knows the roland family because he lived right across the road because he lived right across the road from them on renegade trail from them on renegade trail from them on renegade trail and this is in close proximity to where and this is in close proximity to where and this is in close proximity to where the body was found the body was found the body was found look mr morris has lived there his whole look mr morris has lived there his whole look mr morris has lived there his whole life for 60 years and nate's family only life for 60 years and nate's family only life for 60 years and nate's family only lives two houses away he's had many lives two houses away he's had many lives two houses away he's had many chances to speak with the roland family chances to speak with the roland family chances to speak with the roland family there are only a few houses nearby it's there are only a few houses nearby it's there are only a few houses nearby it's mostly fields so make no mistake about mostly fields so make no mistake about mostly fields so make no mistake about it nate knew this area samantha's it nate knew this area samantha's it nate knew this area samantha's parents seymour and marcy attended the parents seymour and marcy attended the parents seymour and marcy attended the university of south carolina's university of south carolina's university of south carolina's commencement ceremony in may of 2019 commencement ceremony in may of 2019 commencement ceremony in may of 2019 they accepted samantha's degree on her they accepted samantha's degree on her they accepted samantha's degree on her behalf she was honored during the behalf she was honored during the behalf she was honored during the graduation ceremony graduation ceremony graduation ceremony by the usc president harris pastides He said, quote, "I'd like to take a moment to recognize an honor the life and the legacy of Samantha Josephson, our cherished 21-year-old senior political science major whose life was taken tragically from us. Samantha's family is here with us today, and she'll receive her college degree directly after this ceremony. In memory of Samantha, a seat was also reserved in the first row, draped in robes. And one of Samantha's favorite instructors, Daniella James, said, "It's definitely very hard "not to see her there with the other thousands of graduates. "She should be here. "Her spot is there." Following his speech, the university president counted to three and then asked, "What's my name?" And everyone responded, "Samantha Josephson." Samantha was not the only University of South Carolina student to receive a posthumous degree in 2019. In fact, Samantha wasn't even the only murdered student who was supposed to graduate from the University of South Carolina that year. On March 26, 2019, Evan Gaines was shot and killed less than a mile from the university upstate campus. He passed away later that evening. In November 2019, five people were charged with Evan's murder. He was a good person with a desire to work in business management, and he had not been forgotten. Even though that arrest can't bring Evan back, it will help his family get justice that they deserve. Within weeks of Samantha's murder, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin called for stronger regulation of ride-sharing companies, and he proposed policies such as city inspections of ride-share vehicles, designated pick-up points, and adequate lighting at those locations. Additionally, the proposal stipulated that ride-sharing cars should not use child locks unless a child was in the vehicle and the child's parents approved. Seymour and Marcy appeared on ABC's Good Morning America in April of 2019, and they endorsed a proposal passed by South Carolina House requiring Uber and Lyft drivers to display illuminated signs to make it easier for them to be identified. Seymour and Marcy said there were other safety measures that they would like to see added. Uber and Lyft provide customers with a description of the car picking them up and their tag number, which we know they do now. However, a few states do not require front license plates, including South Carolina, so he wasn't advocating making it a law across the board, but anyone working in the ride-share industry should have a license plate on their car. On Good Morning America, Seymour said he would like to also see a QR code in the windshield of vehicles. The driver should be able to scan the code and confirm that it was their car. In June of 2019, the South Carolina legislature passed a law that required all drivers for ride-share services to display their license plates on the front and back of their vehicles. While waiting on their Uber in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, two tourists got into the wrong vehicle three months after Samantha's murder. After they realized the driver was heading in the wrong direction, they told him they were gonna call 911, and the driver grabbed their phone. He suddenly stopped the car, and both of the tourists were able to escape. However, the driver exited the vehicle and tried to approach them. The tourist was able to grab the phone and call 911, and the driver fled in his car. In January of 2020, Uber introduced a new safety feature that enabled users on the app to give a pin to the driver before starting the ride. Seymour thought Uber's new features was a great start, but a bill named Sammy's Law was passed in honor of Samantha six months later. Upon approval, the bill would ban vendors other than ride-sharing companies from selling vehicle signs to prevent driver impersonation. Furthermore, the Government Accountability Office would be required to investigate how background checks were being conducted on the ride-share drivers. Unfortunately, at that time, Sammy's Law failed to advance to the Senate by the deadline, so it was filed again this past December. After passing the House again, the bill was sent to the Senate, and just this month, on January 6th, 2023, President Biden signed Sammy's Law into law. However, the bill was rejected by the Senate on January 6th, 2023, and the Senate passed the bill to the Senate in January of this year, rehash it all over again and nothing he said was helping nate's defense i can tell you that much however the defense did argue that these unidentified dna samples that were taken from the car were significant and that there were mixtures of dna that didn't include nathaniel that he didn't have any marks or cuts nothing however i want to remind you that his jacket did have scratch marks on it the defense also argued that just because samantha's blood is in his car and he tried to sell her phone and tried to use her atm card and that his clothing had blood on it and his phone was tracking with hers and his phone was being used near where the body was found doesn't mean he was the killer huh please make it make sense and they really couldn't jurors were sent home and asked to return the next morning for closing arguments it took less than two hours for seven women and five men to decide nathaniel roland had murdered samantha he was found guilty of all three charges and during the sentencing phase samantha's parents and sister expressed their anguish sydney said that nothing could bring her sister back nothing she says will ease her family's pain and heartbreak marcy said she didn't have time to tell samantha everything she wanted to there wasn't time to kiss her goodbye she called nathan pure evil and hoped that he felt samantha's pain in the end the prosecution decided not to seek the guilt of her murder and samantha's family reluctantly accepted their decision seymour definitely fought them on it up until the last month he wanted nathaniel roland to be executed in his victim impact statement seymour explained that he had contemplated taking his own life several times in those 28 months that he was waiting for the trial seymour told his daughter's murderer that he had taken his baby and he wished that he could inflict the same pain that nathaniel inflicted on samantha on him seymour begged the judge to please give nathaniel a life sentence he never wanted him to see the light of day again what was sad to me and you might feel differently but nate's mom spoke on his behalf in his defense she claimed that her son did not commit the crime but the judge stopped her he told nathaniel's mother there would be no claims of innocence the jury convicted nathaniel and that was that but once again his mom spoke and described her son as caring and then nathaniel's mother said i know my son didn't do this and the judge stopped her again he said this is not the time to express any claims of innocence he told nathaniel's mother that she was not a witness and he'd had enough of the claims about what nathaniel hadn't done nathaniel's mom just looked defeated and she returned to her seat after saying her son was a good and respectful child it pains me that parents have to go through this i don't blame killers family members in cases like this it's devastating for them too they do lose their child as well you don't just stop loving your child you may hate what they did and you may despise them but you can still love them it's a very hard situation to go through and i feel for that poor woman judge clifton newman asked nathaniel to stand in front of the court for sentencing and he was asked if he had anything to say and he said quote what i know and what i think really doesn't matter i just wish the state would have done more in finding out who the actual person was instead of being satisfied with detaining me and proving my guilt if they would have done research in certain areas and then the judge cut him off the judge believed nathaniel had no remorse at all for what he had done in response to whoever asked him for leniency on behalf of the defendant judge newman said that's not in his dna he sentenced nathaniel roland to the state for the remainder of his life without the possibility of parole since samantha was murdered seymour quit his job and now works full-time at the what's my name foundation that they founded to commemorate samantha's life it's named this way because you should always ask the ride share driver what your name is before getting inside this episode is brought to you by txu energy for the first time ever texans have an energy plan that combines free nights all year with daytime summer savings it's called free nights and cool summer you get free nights every night all year long plus a 25 bonus toward your daytime use all summer it's a first of its kind plan created for how texans actually use energy discover how much more you could save with free nights and cool summer txu energy energy for everything visit txu.com for more information rep number one zero zero zero four i know and if they don't don't get inside i'm guilty of kind of asking as i'm getting in don't don't step foot inside a vehicle without the driver saying your full name if that door closes it could be too late the mission at what's my name is to raise awareness of ride sharing safety using the acronym sammy s-a-m-i they urge riders to stop ask match and inform according to what's my name stop and plan before you request a ride think about where you're headed and review the safety features in the app so you know how to use them ask your driver what's my name to confirm they have booked a trip with you through the ride sharing app match the car's make model and license plate with the one displayed in the app inform and share the details of your trip with a friend utilize the share my status function in the ride sharing app this case changed my life or at the very least my actions i i just took an uber from the airport from my trip to florida and i remembered sammy i asked what's my name it was and i really just wanted to get inside but i waited and i confirmed that they had the right name before i closed that door behind me in that moment i thought about sammy's last night on earth it made my ride almost unbearable especially as a mom because i kept asking why why was she taken the way that she was did nate plan this all along i had so many questions that'll never be answered so many things were going through my head i know in my heart and from all the evidence that nate is guilty 100 without a doubt in my mind but i can't help but wonder was this his plan from the minute he left maria's or was this his plan when he saw samantha standing all alone at the curb or was it the minute that she tried to get into that other car before he pulled up when was this murderous plan set in motion was it the minute samantha mistakenly got into his car then nate began to think evil thoughts was his plan really to kill samantha or was it sexual in nature at first because right after he dropped her at that location out in new zion he literally took his phone and went to an adult website if you know what i mean and he watched videos so you tell me and were the child locks already engaged due to maria's little four-year-old that was always driven around in the back of that car or did nate hit that button when samantha closed that door does it even matter no it doesn't but the questions still remain in my mind when did nate get out of that car and how did she get out of the car and how did she get into that car i don't know how nate got out of that car how did she get into that car i don't know how nate got out of that car i don't know how nate got out of that car i don't know how nate got out of that car i don't know how nate got out of that car i don't know how nate got out of that car i don't know how nate got out of that car i don't know how nate got out of that car i don't know how much more you could save with free nate got out of that car i don't know how much more you could save with free nights and cool summer txu energy much more you could save with free nights and cool summer txu energy energy for everything visit txu.com nights and cool summer txu energy energy for everything visit txu.com for more information rep number one energy for everything visit txu.com for more information rep number one zero zero zero four