Updated: Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Friends and family of the University of South Carolina student killed Friday after getting in a car – apparently thinking it was her Uber – gathered to remember her life Sunday night.
Around 500 people came together on the university's campus to honor 21-year-old Samantha Josephson. Friends and family of Josephson spoke of her life, including her boyfriend, Greg Corbishley.
"I look at all of you guys, and I see that even in the short time that she was here, how many people she positively impacted with her energy and her positive attitude and her wildness," Corbishley said.
"Energy doesn't die. It stays with you, and that positive energy is going to help me go on in living the rest of my life."
Saturday, police arrested the man accused of killing Josephson. Nathanial Rowland, 24, is charged with kidnapping and murder.
The investigation regarding USC student Samantha Josephson is now a homicide case. Her body was found by hunters in rural Clarendon Co. late yesterday afternoon. Suspect Nathaniel Rowland has been charged w/ Murder & Kidnapping by SLED. Agents have been an integral part in case. pic.twitter.com/2tj8TVRAex
— Columbia Police Dept (@ColumbiaPDSC) March 30, 2019
Police say Josephson got into Rowland's black Chevrolet Impala as she left a bar in Columbia's Five Points area around 2 a.m. Friday. Investigators say she believed the car to be an Uber. Rowland is not a driver for Uber or Lyft, according to police.
Her body was found late Friday afternoon by hunters in rural Clarendon County, about 70 miles from Columbia.
An autopsy report indicated that Josephson's "cause of death was due to multiple sharp force injuries," according to a statement released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Monday afternoon.
Arrest warrants further say she had "numerous wounds evident on multiple parts of her body to include her head, neck, face, upper body, leg and foot." The warrants also say a large amount of what DNA testing showed to be Josephson's blood was found inside Rowland's car.
Rowland did not appear in court Sunday afternoon. The date of his bond hearing has not yet been set, and he will remain in jail until then. It is unknown if he has a lawyer.
If convicted, Rowland could face up to life in prison or the possibility of the death penalty. Under South Carolina law, kidnapping carries up to 30 years in prison.
Josephson's mother Marci Josephson spoke during the court proceeding, according to The State newspaper.
"He's taken away a piece of our heart, soul and life. Shame on him," Marci Josephson said.
She said her daughter was "bubbly, loving, kind and full of life" and had plans to go to law school after graduation in May.
"Samantha Josephson," Marci Josephson told the judge and reporters. "My daughter's name was Samantha Josephson. Don't ever forget her name. Samantha Josephson. Shame on him."
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