Killer 'sexually obsessed' with stepdaughter jailed after murder and sex with effigy

Killer 'sexually obsessed' with stepdaughter jailed after murder and sex with effigy Nathan Owens has been jailed after murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter Carla Georgescu, 19, at her university halls in Preston, following a one-sided 'sexual obsession' A stepdad with a "sexual obsession" for his stepdaughter has been jailed for life for her murder. Nathan Owens, 34, killed University of Lancashire student Carla Georgescu, 19, at her university halls in Preston. She was found dead on February 5 - on what would have been her 20th birthday. Owens staged the scene to look like Carla had taken her own life. He had travelled from Hartlepool to her accommodation in the early hours of February 4, and subjected her to "violent and sexual assault" before killing her. He was today jailed for life, and must serve a minimum of 35 years in prison. Sentencing him, Mr Justice Jacobs labelled Owens “despicable” and said he had subjected his victim to a “horrific, brutal attack”. The judge said: “The last 90 minutes of Carla’s life are too horrendous to think about... I am sure that she suffered both mentally and physically during a material part of that 90 minutes.” His trial heard that, without Carla or her mum Janina's knowledge, Owens had harboured a “sexual obsession” with the teenager. He filmed himself having intercourse with an effigy adorned with her clothes and made recordings of himself performing sex acts with stuffed toys. He also doctored childhood photographs of Carla to create indecent images and photographed her without her knowledge at their family home in Hartlepool. Owens was convicted of murder, assault causing grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation. He smirked and flicked his hair as the verdicts were returned on Thursday. During the trial, Janina said her daughter was "happy and excited" about an upcoming trip to Romania with a friend on February 5, where she was due to meet a man with whom she had recently struck up a romantic relationship. On February 1, Owens drove from Hartlepool to join Janina and Carla for a meal at Kimji Korean restaurant. After the meal, Janina and Owens dropped Carla off at her accommodation before returning together to the east coast. In the early hours of February 4, Owens travelled again to Preston without telling Janina. Owens messaged Carla, pretending that he and her mum were coming to pick up a purse her mum had left behind. CCTV footage showed Owens making his way to Carla's student accommodation with a blanket covering his head. He was later seen entering the building after Carla let him in. She was never seen alive again. Carla was found slumped against her wardrobe, with injuries to her head, defensive marks on her hands and sexual injuries. Although Owens disposed of some evidence, including Carla's red pyjama bottoms, which have never been found, his DNA was discovered on her body, the floor and a blanket in her room. Prosecutor Nicholas Lumley KC told jurors during the trial: "Her death was the culmination, the end point, of weeks, months and perhaps years of a one-sided sexual obsession."