Murder of Samantha Josephson

Samantha Josephson was a 21-year-old senior at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, majoring in political science. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, and raised in Robbinsville, New Jersey, she was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, had studied abroad in Barcelona, and had earned a scholarship to attend Drexel University School of Law after graduation.

On March 29, 2019, Josephson spent the evening with friends in the Five Points district of downtown Columbia. She left a bar at about 2 a.m. and ordered an Uber. Surveillance footage showed a black Chevrolet Impala pulling up beside her at 2:09 a.m.; she got in, believing it was her ride. According to authorities, the driver, Nathaniel Rowland, had activated the car's child locks so the doors could only be opened from the outside, trapping her inside. Rowland stabbed Josephson with a two-bladed knife; an autopsy found roughly 120 stab wounds to her head, neck, face, shoulder, torso, back, lung, leg, and feet, and the pathologist determined she bled to death within 10 to 20 minutes. Investigators said Rowland drove her body to a field near New Zion, South Carolina, about 65 miles from Columbia, where turkey hunters found it hours later.

Josephson's roommates reported her missing the day after she disappeared. Officers stopped Rowland while he was driving in the Five Points area in a car matching the one seen in the surveillance footage; he fled on foot and was arrested at 3 a.m. on March 30, 2019. Inside the car, officers found bleach, cleaning wipes, Josephson's phone, and a large amount of her blood, along with the activated child locks. A search of trash behind the residence of Rowland's girlfriend turned up a two-bladed knife and cleaning supplies bearing Josephson's blood; her blood was also found on a sock and bandana belonging to Rowland, and her DNA was recovered from under his fingernails. Forensic examiners also matched a bare footprint on the rear window of Rowland's car to Josephson. Rowland was charged with kidnapping, murder, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Rowland was denied bond in June 2020. His trial opened on July 20, 2021, before State Circuit Judge Clifton Newman; prosecutors called 31 witnesses, and the defense called none. On July 27, 2021, a jury convicted Rowland of kidnapping, murder, and weapons possession after roughly an hour of deliberation, and Judge Newman sentenced him to life in prison. The South Carolina Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in August 2024 and denied Rowland a further hearing the following month.

Josephson's death prompted new rideshare-safety legislation. South Carolina's Samantha L. Josephson Ridesharing Safety Act, requiring rideshare vehicles to display front license plates, was signed into law on June 5, 2019. A federal version of the bill, also called Sami's Law, was signed by President Joe Biden on January 5, 2023. Josephson's parents founded the What's My Name Foundation to promote rideshare safety and college scholarships, and the University of South Carolina launched a campaign called “What's My Name” in her memory.