Samantha Josephson was a 21-year-old student at the University of South Carolina who went missing after a night out in Columbia in March 2019. She was last seen getting into a car she believed was her Uber ride and her body was found the following day in a rural area, showing signs of multiple stab wounds.
Growing Up as Sami
Samantha Lee Josephson was born in Princeton, New Jersey and grew up in Robbinsville. Friends and family often called her “Sami.” She was known as driven, friendly and focused on her future. From a young age, she showed interest in world issues and justice which later shaped her career goals.
After finishing high school, Samantha enrolled at the University of South Carolina. She chose political science as her major and quickly stood out as a serious student. By her senior year, she was balancing classes, campus life and plans for what would come next after graduation.
Samantha planned to graduate in 2019. Her long-term goal was to become a lawyer and work in international law. She had already earned a full scholarship to Drexel University School of Law and also received a partial scholarship to Rutgers.
Outside the classroom, Samantha was active on campus, she was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and formed close friendships there.
During college, she also studied abroad in Barcelona and traveled to cities like Madrid and Paris. These trips matched her interest in global cultures and international work.
The Night Out in Columbia
On the night before her death, Samantha went out with friends in the Five Points district of downtown Columbia, South Carolina. The area was busy and filled with students enjoying the weekend. Samantha spent the evening socializing and later decided it was time to head home.
At around 2:00 a.m. Samantha left the Bird Dog bar. She used her phone to order an Uber, something she had likely done many times before. Surveillance cameras later captured her standing outside, waiting for her ride.
At 2:09 a.m. a black Chevrolet Impala pulled up beside her. The car was driven by Nathaniel Rowland.
Believing this was her Uber, Samantha got into the vehicle. Investigators later said that Rowland activated the child locks on the doors, meaning they could only be opened from the outside, the CBS News reports.
Once inside, Samantha realized something was wrong but by then she was trapped.
Inside the Car
According to investigators and medical findings, Rowland attacked Samantha inside the car using a two-bladed knife. The attack was intense and lasted several minutes.
Samantha tried to defend herself. One injury showed that a knife blade went completely through her right hand, likely as she tried to block the blows.
She was stabbed in many places, including her face, neck, shoulder, torso, back, lung, leg and feet. One injury to her head was very serious, with the blade going through her skull and into her brain. Another wound damaged her carotid artery which is an important blood vessel that carries blood to the head.
Many of the wounds were close together, suggesting the strikes happened very quickly. Samantha also suffered a broken hyoid bone in her neck. The pathologist later said she lost a massive amount of blood and likely died within 10 to 20 minutes.
Investigators believe Rowland later moved her body to a field in New Zion, South Carolina.
When Samantha Didn’t Come Home
The next day, Samantha’s roommates noticed she never came home. They grew worried and reported her missing. At that point, no one yet knew what had happened after she entered the car.
About fourteen hours after the kidnapping, turkey hunters discovered Samantha’s body in a field in New Zion, located in Clarendon County. The discovery confirmed that something terrible had happened.
Police soon learned that the area where her body was found was near where Rowland had recently lived.
An autopsy showed that Samantha died from multiple sharp force injuries. The pathologist estimated she had around 120 stab wounds, though an exact count was difficult because there were so many.
The autopsy also revealed the extreme blood loss. While a human body usually contains several liters of blood, Samantha’s body had only a very small amount left.
Finding the Suspect
Police had already started looking closely at the black Chevrolet Impala seen on surveillance footage. Officers later spotted Rowland driving a car that matched the description in the Five Points area.
When police tried to stop him, Rowland got out of the car and ran. He was caught shortly afterward and arrested around 3:00 a.m. on March 30.
Inside the Impala, investigators found cleaning supplies, including liquid bleach, wipes and window cleaner.
According to NBC News, Samantha’s phone was also inside the car. There was a large amount of her blood in the passenger seat and in the trunk. The child locks were still activated, supporting the belief that she could not escape.
Evidence Tells the Story
As the investigation continued, police searched the trash behind the home of Rowland’s girlfriend. There, they found more cleaning supplies and a two-bladed knife. Both tested positive for Samantha’s blood.
Additional items, including a sock and a bandana owned by Rowland, also had her blood on them. Investigators found Samantha’s DNA under Rowland’s fingernails, further linking him to the crime.
One of the most striking pieces of evidence came from the car itself. While looking for fingerprints, investigators discovered a bare footprint impression on the rear driver-side window. Forensic experts compared it to Samantha’s feet and confirmed it matched the unique patterns on the soles of her feet.
Her fingerprints were also found on other items connected to Rowland.
Rowland was charged with kidnapping, murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. As police dug deeper into his background, they also connected him to another alleged crime.
In October 2018, another woman was reportedly kidnapped in Columbia. She was carjacked at a traffic light, assaulted and forced to withdraw money from an ATM. The attackers then made her go home and stole additional items, including a PlayStation 4.
According to deputies, Rowland later sold some of those stolen items at a pawn shop. He was charged with obtaining goods under false pretenses related to that case.
Courtroom Battles
On June 9, 2020, Rowland was denied bond. During a virtual hearing, family members from both sides spoke before Judge DeAndrea Benjamin.
Rowland’s trial began on July 20, 2021. Prosecutors presented testimony from 31 witnesses. These included the turkey hunter who found Samantha’s body, a cell phone store owner who said Rowland tried to sell him Samantha’s phone, Rowland’s former girlfriend and multiple law enforcement experts.
The defense did not call any witnesses and Rowland did not testify.
After just over an hour of deliberation on July 27, 2021, the jury found Rowland guilty on all counts. He was convicted of kidnapping, murder and possessing a weapon during a violent crime.
Judge Clifton Newman immediately sentenced him to life in prison. He described the crime as one of the most severe he had seen and made it clear that leniency was not an option.
In August 2024, the South Carolina Court of Appeals upheld Rowland’s conviction. A later request for another hearing was denied in September 2024.
Turning Grief Into Action
After Samantha’s death, her parents chose to honor her memory by helping others. They created the What’s My Name Foundation, focused on ride-share safety education and scholarships.
Their efforts led to real changes. In June 2019, South Carolina passed the Samantha L. Josephson Ridesharing Safety Act.
The law requires ride-share cars to display license plate numbers on the front and sets penalties for people who pretend to be ride-share drivers or misuse ride-share apps during crimes.
That same month, New Jersey passed Sami’s Law. It requires more visible driver identification, including placards with the driver’s name, photo and license plate number, plus scannable codes for passengers.
Other states followed. North Carolina passed the Passenger Protection Act which added new safety rules and education funding. Lawmakers in New York proposed similar measures.
On the federal level, a version of Sami’s Law was introduced in Congress. It aimed to set national safety standards and study ride-share practices. In July 2020, the U.S. House unanimously approved it. In January 2023, related federal legislation was signed into law.
Remembering Samantha
In May 2019, Samantha was awarded her political science degree after her death. Her diploma and college belongings were given to her mother, per CNN.
The University of South Carolina launched the “What’s My Name” campaign to remind students to confirm their rides. Samantha’s family later attended the State of the Union as guests of a congressman.
In her hometown of Robbinsville, a patio and rock garden were built in her honor. Samantha Josephson was later laid to rest at the Perrineville Jewish Cemetery in New Jersey.
