First picture of 'obsessed' stepfather who 'strangled student, 19, after having sex with a life-sized effigy of her'

A ‘sexually obsessed' stepfather accused of murdering a 19-year-old student can be pictured for the first time after a court was played footage of his arrest.

Nathan Owens, 34, allegedly strangled Carla Georgescu in February after driving more than 100 miles through the night to her student halls in Preston, Lancashire.

Prosecutors claim his actions were driven by 'sexual jealousy' after learning the second-year clinical psychology student planned to meet a man she had been romantically involved with online.

His 'escalating fascination' with Carla included having sex with a life-sized 'effigy' of his teenage stepdaughter which he had clothed in her nightdress, the trial has heard.

Carla – wearing a fluffy dressing gown and pyjamas – was seen on CCTV letting Owens into Ribble Hall, her block of student flats at the University of Lancashire, at around 4am on February 4, his head hidden by a patterned blanket.

He was captured leaving the building around an hour-and-a-half later, 'shielding' himself with an umbrella and wearing a face-mask while wearing Carla's trainers and carrying two bags.

Owens then drove back home to Hartlepool, allegedly stopping en route to dump items including bedding later found to contain traces of Carla’s DNA.

His wife, Janina Georgescu, has told jurors he did not mention having been to see her daughter in the night when she awoke later that morning.

Nathan Owens, 34, was arrested on suspicion of murdering his stepdaughter, Carla Georgescu, 19, in police bodycam footage played at his murder trial at Preston Crown Court

Carla Georgescu, 19, a second-year clinical psychology student at the University of Lancashire, was allegedly strangled and murdered by her stepfather Nathan Owens

Carla Georgescu, in a fluffy dressing gown, caught on CCTV letting her stepfather Nathan Owens, 34, into her university accommodation in Preston at around 4am on February 4, 2026, with his face covered by a blanket

Owens captured leaving the building around an hour-and-a-half later, 'shielding' himself with an umbrella and wearing a face-mask while wearing Carla's trainers and carrying two bags. Her body was found the following day after her mother Janina called the university

She became worried when Carla did not respond to her messages and phone calls, and the following day – which would have been Carla's 20th birthday – she contacted university security.

They carried out a welfare check and discovered her body slumped against a wardrobe door with a belt around her neck.

Officers called to the couple’s home later on February 5 and told them ‘it looks like she has hung herself’, jurors were told on Thursday.

Hours later, Owens was said to be carrying out web searches about how police investigate suspicious deaths and wiping his electronic devices.

Further searches included ‘police misinformed us about the cause of death’ and ‘accident or homicide’, the trial was told.

Later that evening a local officer returned to ask Owens about his visit to her flat on the night she was last seen alive, recording the encounter on his body-worn camera.

Within half an hour, Owens had downloaded ‘eraser’ software onto his computer, with ‘multiple deletion events’ taking place overnight along with a factory reset of his mobile phone, the court heard.

On the evening of February 6, Owens carried out more web searches including ‘I think the police think I’m guilty’ and ‘when police turn on their bodycam you are guilty’, the jury were told.

The jury was shown footage of Owens and Carla both looking at their phones during a dinner 

Preston Crown Court was shown footage of Owens walking towards the block of student flats with a patterned blanket over his head shortly before his stepdaughter was 'murdered'

Carla's body was found at her University of Lancashire accommodation, Ribble Hall in Preston, on February 5 after her mother raised the alarm 

Another search queried whether ‘cops intentionally try to trick people into confessing to something’.

Footage played to his trial at Preston Crown Court shows the moment officers from Lancashire arrive at his house to arrest him on suspicion of murder the following day.

Owens looks impassive and nods as he is cautioned before being handcuffed and led away.

Before his arrest, Owens told Ms Georgescu he went to Preston that night because Carla had wanted him to take incontinence pants to her and help her tidy her room.

But the prosecution say this was an attempt to 'cover his tracks' and 'keep his wife onside', and that the truth is that he brutally attacked Carla before fleeing the scene, dumping evidence and attempting to cover his tracks.

The prosecution allege he had become 'sexually fixated' with Carla and her death was the culmination of weeks, months and perhaps years of a 'one-sided sexual obsession'.

He is also said to have taken photos of Carla without her knowledge, filmed himself having sex with her dolls and toys, and manipulated an innocent image of her so it appeared sexual.

Owens denies charges of murder, intentional strangulation and grievous bodily harm with intent.