COLUMBIA, S.C. — The mother, father and sister of Samantha Josephson poured out their hearts and asked for the harshest sentence possible in powerful victim impact statements Tuesday after a jury found Nathaniel Rowland guilty in the death of Josephson less than two hours after deliberations began.
“Her death sliced through my heart,” Marci Josephson, the mother of Samantha Josephson, tearfully said while reading a statement before sentencing.
"I close my eyes and I feel what she endured at his hands, 120 times, over and over and over, fighting for her life, locked in his car," Josephson said.
"I used to have dreams for her. Now, all I have are nightmares, 120 times. The final moments, her bare feet kicking and fighting for her life, Josephson said. "I visualize the blood flowing from her body ... 120 times. For what? The $35 a college student has in her bank account?"
"The loss of Sammy is beyond words, she said. "I was planning my trip to Columbia 2019 to plan my to watch my daughter graduate from college. Instead, I went to Columbia to gather her belongings."
"Our family of four is forever broken," Josephson said. "He cut out a piece of me. I'm bleeding silently. You don't see it. I try to move forward each day but will forever be broken."
"Samantha fought for her life because her life was worth fighting for," she said. "I pray that when Sammy closed her eyes, she thought of beautiful things, his evil face was not the last thing she saw before she took her last breath."
"The heinous and brutal crime could have happened to anyone, Josephson reflected. "Sammy was a reflection of everyone's child."
Of Rowland, Josephson said, "I despise everything about him. His eyes glaring at my family during the trial told me everything I already knew about him. He is pure evil."
"He's a monster. He's evil," Josephson continued. "I pray that he feels Samantha’s pain. I pray that he gets what he deserves under the law. I pray that he never has a chance to hurt anyone ever again."
Watch Marci Josephson's FULL STATEMENT:
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"I feel an incredible amount of anger, an incredible amount of guilt. I can't sleep at night. I don't want to sleep at night because all I do is start thinking of Samantha," Samantha Josephson’s father, Seymour Josephson, began.
"I have repeated nightmares and visions of him [Nathaniel Rowland], the monster, stabbing her. I have visions of her foot on the back window. I have visions of her screaming and fighting. I have visions of her taking her last breath," he said. "I have such hatred running through me. I still, to this day, can't believe she is gone."
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I've contemplated suicide several times over the last 28 months. I fight to stop having these thoughts or desires only because I'm afraid of what this would ultimately do to Sydney [Samantha's sister] and Marci."
"I stand here for the last week in bewilderment, asking 'How in the world did we get here? How does he, this animal, have any rights? How's it OK for him to go over to his family freely during breaks, unchained? Why does he have this right with an avalanche of evidence, while family and friends sit here in such pain, wishing and wanting to have our Samantha back?' It kills me to witness this."
"She is such a beautiful person, inside and out. She was going to attend Drexel Law School on a full scholarship ... she wanted to help others and fight for people's rights. Samantha was one of the kindest, lighthearted, funny people you could have met," Josephson continued. "Obviously, she trusted too many people."
Josephson spoke about the foundation their family started, the #WHATSMYNAME Foundation, to educate people about ride share safety, among other things. As a part of that mission, he said he often spoke to groups about about Samantha's story and ride share safety. "I was keeping Sammy with me and not letting anybody forget. Not even him [Rowland], could take this from me. I won't let him."
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"I look at my wife, and she's not even close to being the same. I have lost a huge piece of her, along with Sammy. Every day I look at her and only wish I could do something to take that pain away. Her memory, her laughter, her ease of life, her flame that burns inside is way down."
"My Sydney, she lost her best friend, her confidant, her baby sister. She is who I worry the most about moving forward," Josephson said of his other daughter.
To Nathaniel Rowland, Josephson said, "In the end, you have taken my baby away ... all the milestones that one would normally experience if an animal or a monster did not take them away from us. And for what? $10? $20? You took her life. Only an animal or monster does that."
"Judge, I only wish we could inflict the same or more pain he inflicted upon Sammy," Josephson said. "Please, I beg you, please give him life and never see the light of day."
Watch Mr. Josephson's FULL STATEMENT: