Authorities say multiple injuries from a sharp object killed a University of South Carolina student who police say was kidnapped after she got into the wrong car while waiting for an Uber.
The brief statement Monday from Clarendon County Coroner Bucky Mock did not specify what kind of weapon was used to kill 21-year-old Samantha Josephson.
Authorities have charged 24-year-old Nathaniel David Rowland with kidnapping and murder.
Arrest warrants say after Josephson got into his car early Friday, Rowland attacked her, causing numerous wounds to her head, neck, face, upper body, leg, and foot.
Police say Josephson’s body was found Friday afternoon in Clarendon County, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) from Columbia by turkey hunters.
Her cause of death was revealed after her father promised to dedicate his life to improving the safety of ride sharing services.
Samantha Josephson, 21, was found dead on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina after she mistakenly got into a car thinking it was her Uber ride
Surveillance video shows the fateful moment the 21-year-old mistook a car for the Uber she ordered outside a bar in Columbia, South Carolina, early Friday morning
The first dark car Samantha went up to was not her ride, her father said. So she jumped into a second similar looking car, Seymour Josephson said.
‘Samantha was by herself. She had absolutely no chance. None. The door was locked, the child safety locks were on,’ her father said Sunday night at a candlelight vigil in Columbia.
Seymour told his daughter’s friends they can help by always taking rides or walking around town in groups of two or more because there is safety in numbers.
‘If there is somebody else in that car, there is actually a chance,’ he said. He now plans to speak to ride sharing services about better identifying their vehicles.
Nathaniel David Rowland, 24, was arrested for allegedly killing 21-year-old Samantha Josephson after she got into his car in Columbia at about 1.30am on Friday thinking it was her Uber ride
Rowland, 24, is charged with kidnapping and murder in Josephson’s death.
Josephson’s blood and cellphone were found in his car the next night when he was arrested two blocks from Five Points, authorities said.
Rowland remains in the Richland County jail. It wasn’t known if he had a lawyer.
Josephson’s boyfriend, Greg Corbishley said he saw a clear future with her and remembered their last conversation Thursday when she thanked him for letting her just be herself.
‘Even in the short time she was here, how many people she positively impacted with her energy,’ Corbishley said.
Josephson’s parents said they had planned to come to Columbia on Saturday to see their daughter in the city and the university she loved one last time before she graduated in May and moved on to law school at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
They still came, but while her father went to the candlelight vigil, her mother was at the Richland County jail for a hearing scheduled for the man charged with killing her daughter.
Josephson is seen in family photos with her parents. Her mom read a statement to the court Sunday
Rowland decided not to appear, but a judge gave Marci Josephson a chance to talk.
She read out a statement which said: ‘There are no words to describe the immense pain, his actions have caused our family and friends. He’s taken away a piece of our heart, soul and life. Shame on him. We thought he would be here to see his evil face.
‘I can not fathom how someone could randomly select a person, a beautiful girl and steal her life away. His actions were senseless, vile and unacceptable. It sickens us to think that his face was the last thing that my baby girl saw on this earth.
‘His selfish, unspeakable and violent actions have created a hole in the universe.’
She described her daughter as bubbly and full of life and said she was due to graduate college in May and start law school in September.
The grieving mother urged the judge to deny bail for Rowland.
‘He should never be given the right to walk free again for what he did to my daughter, or given the opportunity to hurt anyone else,’ she said.
The night after Josephson was kidnapped, a Columbia police officer noticed a black Chevrolet Impala about two blocks from the Five Points bars where Josephson was kidnapped.
Josephson is seen visiting Paris in February 2018. She was out with friends and got into a car she thought was her Uber when she disappeared
Surveillance images released by the Columbia Police Department show Josephson wearing an orange shirt and black pants and talking on the phone seconds before she disappeared
The driver ran but was arrested after a short chase. Investigators said there was a child safety seat in the back of the car and the child safety locks were enabled, meaning Josephson would have not been able to escape.
Security footage from the area shows Josephson getting into the black Chevy Impala when she was leaving after a night out with a group of friends in the Five Points area.
She left the bar Bird Dog alone and was spotted getting into the car that she and her friends believed was an Uber that she had ordered, a witness told the Daily Gamecock student newspaper.
When Josephson’s actual Uber driver arrived moments later, the driver cancelled the ride when she didn’t show up for the pick-up, witnesses said.
Surveillance images released by the Columbia Police Department also show the final image of Josephson before she disappeared. She was seen wearing an orange shirt and black pants, and talking on the phone.
Throughout the day on Friday, Josephson’s friends and family were unable to get in touch with her and an urgent search was launched.
Josephson got into the car seen above, which she and her friends mistakenly believed was the Uber she had ordered
Josephson’s father (with her above) in her hometown of Robinsville, New Jersey also confirmed her passing in a heart-wrenching Facebook post
Josephson’s body was said to have been found Black Bottom Road, pictured
Police say the suspect previously lived in the area where Josephson’s body was found.
An Uber spokesman was unable to immediately comment when reached by DailyMail.com.
The company does urge riders to check that the details of the driver and the car match the information in the app, which provides the driver’s name and photo, as well as the make and model of the car and a license plate number.
Drivers are also provided the rider’s name and should be able to specify who they are picking up when asked.
Josephson’s blood and her cell phone were found Rowland’s black Chevy Impala, as well as bleach and cleaning products, according to police. They said the child safety locks were enabled on Rowland’s car meaning she would have not been able to escape
Security footage appears to show Josephson getting into the black Chevy Impala at around 2am on Friday. Rowland was arrested driving that car, police say
‘In cases when you are helping someone request a ride through Uber who may have had a few drinks or is unfamiliar with the app, help them double check that the driver and vehicle match the details in the app — before they get in the car,’ wrote Wade Stormer, Uber’s law enforcement liaison, in a blog post.
‘Taking the extra step to double check these details is an important safety measure,’ he continued.
A GoFundMe set up to help with funeral costs had raised more than $60,000 by Monday night.