Rowland trial live updates: Josephson’s DNA on suspected murder weapon, witness says

The trial of Nathaniel Rowland, a man accused of killing University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson, entered its fifth day Friday.

Josephson’s case gained nation attention after it was reported that she was killed after mistakenly getting into a car that was not her Uber while out celebrating in Five Points, the entertainment district in Columbia most frequented by USC students. Her body was found hours later dumped in a wooded area 60 miles from Columbia.

Jurors dismissed for the weekend

6:05 p.m. — Judge Clifton Newman declares that no more witnesses will be questioned Friday afternoon. The trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Defense cross examines DNA expert

5:00 p.m — During the cross examination of prosecutors’ expert DNA witness, defense attorney Tracy Pinnock focused on DNA found by investigators from people who went unidentified.

On most of the items tested by State Law Enforcement Division investigators, multiple DNA profiles were found. The profiles were tested against a number of known samples, but, for many of those samples, some or all of the people involved in the case were ruled out as DNA donors.

For example, on the steering wheel of Rowland’s black Impala, investigators found a mixture of three DNA profiles, SLED forensic scientist Ryan DeWane testified Friday. One profile was linked to Rowland and another was linked to Maria Howard, who was dating Rowland. The third contributor was never identified.

“Having DNA of two individuals who were driving a vehicle show up on a steering wheel is not uncommon, correct?” Pinnock asked. “But there were three individuals in the mixture?”

DeWane confirmed Pinnock’s statement.

“So, it was very likely Nathaniel Rowland, Maria Howard and somebody we don’t know,” Pinnock said.

Pinnock made similar points about other DNA mixtures collected by SLED, including from the gear shift, the exterior door handle on the rear passenger side of the car, the rear passenger seat and from the rear driver’s side seat.

-Emily Bohatch

Josephson DNA found on suspected murder weapon

4:15 p.m. — There is “very strong support” that DNA found on a multi-tool — the prosecution’s suspected murder weapon — belongs to Josephson, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division forensic scientist Ryan DeWane testified Friday.

DNA from Josephson was found on two different parts of the multi-tool examined by SLED investigators: the seratted blade and the edges of the inner handles of the tool.

There is also “very strong support” that a hair found on the tool belongs to Josephson, DeWane added.

SLED does not use the word “match” when it comes to DNA analysis, DeWane explained. Instead, they use a scale in which “very strong support” is the highest level of confidence.

DeWane also testified that there is “weak” support that an additional sample of DNA found on the tool belonged to Rowland. That means that Rowland cannot be excluded as a contributor of some of the DNA.

-Emily Bohatch

Josephson DNA found inside Impala

3:40 p.m. — Continuing her testimony, DeWane told the jury Friday afternoon that there was “very strong support” that DNA evidence found in Rowland’s black Impala belonged to Josephson.

SLED does not use the word “match” when it comes to DNA analysis, DeWane explained. Instead, they use a scale in which “very strong support” is the highest level of confidence.

DeWane testified there was “very strong support” that DNA found in blood on the inside of the rear passenger door to the Impala belonged to Josephson. Earlier Friday, a fingerprint expert testified that Josephson’s footprints were found on the glass window corresponding with that door.

Josephson’s DNA was also found in the rear passenger side seat of the Impala, the back of the front passenger side headrest and the center console, DeWane testified. Both Rowland and Josephson’s DNA was located on the gear shift.

Josephson’s DNA was also found on several items inside of the car, including an envelope, a black jacket and a flip flop in the trunk of the car.

SLED investigators also found “very strong support” that both Rowland and Josephson’s DNA were on gloves and a shirt inside of a plastic bag, DeWane testified.

-Emily Bohatch

Josephson DNA found under Rowland’s nails

3:00 p.m. — Josephson’s DNA was found underneath Rowland’s fingernails, as well as on several of his belongings, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division forensic scientist Ryan DeWane testified Friday afternoon.

DeWane testified that SLED also found “very strong support” that DNA found on the heel of Rowland’s black socks matched Josephson. They also found “very strong support” that DNA found on Rowland’s bandanna matched both him and Josephson.

SLED does not use the word “match” when it comes to DNA analysis, DeWane explained. Instead, they use a scale in which “very strong support” is the highest level of confidence.

Several hairs collected by SLED were also linked through DNA to Josephson, DeWane testified.

-Emily Bohatch

Objects owned by Rowland test positive for blood

12:45 p.m. — Verona Herrea, a former lab technician for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, testified Friday that several items owned by Rowland tested positive for blood when Herrea preformed presumptive testing.

Herrea explained that when an item is presumed to have blood or another bodily fluid on it, her job as a forensic serologist is to perform a presumptive test, meaning taking a sample of the item, spraying it with a chemical and seeing if it reacts. Other chemicals and things in an environment can produce a false positive, Herrea stressed, so if an item receives a positive presumptive test, it’s then forwarded to the SLED DNA lab for additional testing.

Several items collected by investigators were flagged as positive for blood during the presumptive testing phase, Herrea testified. That included a swab from a black jacket found in the rear passenger seat of Rowland’s car, a cutting from the heel of Rowland’s black socks, a cutting from the right shoulder of Rowland’s gray Puma hoodie and a cutting from one of Rowland’s bandannas.

Judge Clifton Newman ordered that the court break for lunch until 2:15 p.m.

-Emily Bohatch

SLED investigator matches footprint to one found in car

12:00 p.m. — State Law Enforcement Division Agent Kimberly Mears testified Friday that multiple footprints found inside Rowland’s car matched prints taken from Josephson.

Mears testified that they matched the following footprints to Josephson:

• A print of the toes on her right foot found on the driver’s-side rear window.

• A print of the heel of her left foot found on the driver’s-side rear window.

• A print of the area bellow her smaller toes found on the driver’s-side rear window.

• Two prints from Josephson found on a Yankee Candle bag found in the car.

Mears also testified that Rowland’s fingerprints were found in the inside of a roll of pink duct tape.

-Emily Bohatch

Cell phone expert details Rowland’s phone’s movements

11:00 a.m. — Prosecutors called on former State Law Enforcement Division agent Eric Grabsky to detail the movements of Rowland’s cell phone during the early morning hours when Josephson was kidnapped killed.

Grabsky is a forensic expert in cell phone location tracking, and worked with SLED for three years to help track and apprehend dangerous suspect using their phone data. He also mapped out historical cell phone data.

Using a Powerpoint, Grabsky showed the jury that Rowland’s cell phone used towers in Columbia providing service in Five Points at the time of Josephson’s kidnapping.

Rowland and Josephson’s phones were using “similar towers in a similar area,” Grabsky said.

Grabsky also showed Rowland’s phone utilizing different towers through east Columbia and through Sumter.

At about 4:30 a.m., Rowland’s phone accessed two towers facing the direction of where Josephson’s body was located, Grabsky testified. “It’s possible,” that someone located where the body was used those towers based on a technique that uses distance from tower indicators to determine an approximate location, Grabsky said.

“Its possible that the phone is between where those two sectors are opening up,” Grabsky said.

The phone records went on to show Rowland’s phone switching towers as it traveled through Sumter and got closer to Columbia from about 5:15 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Defense attorney Alicia Goode questioned how precise the methods used to track Rowland’s phone are.

“These are theoretical locations of where a device may be at these times?” Goode asked Grabsky.

Grabsky replied that the techniques he used could, for example, tell the general area a phone is in, but is not precise enough to tell the exact street corner a phone is on.

-Emily Bohatch

Another former girlfriend takes the stand

10:00 a.m. — Rowland’s former girlfriend, Destiny Cuttino, was called to the stand and asked about a number of objects that could have been in Rowland’s possession. Cuttino and Rowland dated for about four months in 2019, she said.

Specifically, prosecutor Byron Gipson asked her whether she had ever seen the multi-tool, which prosecutors have said is the murder weapon, in Rowland’s car.

Cuttino said she had seen something similar, but added she wasn’t sure if it was exactly the same tool.

Defense attorney Tracy Pinnock asked Cuttino about Rowland’s car, a black Impala that prosecutors have said he used to pick up Josephson in Five Points. Pinnock asked whether anyone else regularly used the car.

Cuttino said that occasionally, Rowland’s cousin drove the car, but Rowland himself was usually the one using it.

Pinnock also asked her about Rowland’s character.

“You described him as a sweet person? Kind hearted? Giving?” Pinnock asked.

“Yes,” Cuttino replied.

-Emily Bohatch

Bank investigator testifies about stolen card

9:30 A.M. — As the first witness Friday morning, prosecutors called financial investigator Danny Conyers to the stand. Conyers, now retired, was an investigator from Wells Fargo, the bank owning two ATMs where someone attempted to use Josephson’s bank card.

Conyers provided police ATM footage from the machines, one in Sumter and one in Columbia. The footage, which was shown in court Friday, showed a person trying multiple times to withdraw cash. From each bank location, two videos from different angles were shown. The person in the footage had his or her face covered during the stops in both Columbia and Sumter.

Conyers said the person was ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts to withdraw money from the accounts because they did not have the correct pin.

The defense questioned why Conyers assumed that the people in each video were the same.

“You don’t know that,” defense attorney Tracy Pinnock said.

Conyers replied that the two people in the videos were wearing the same clothes, but he could not conclusively say they were the same person.

-Emily Bohatch

What you’ve missed so far

The trial started off with a bang as defendant Nathaniel Rowland tried to fire his attorneys during jury selection Monday. His request was denied by Judge Clifton Newman.

After powering through jury selection on Monday, prosecutors and the defense team delivered their opening statements on Tuesday.

In his statement, prosecutor Byron Gipson told jurors that Samantha Josephson, a USC student killed in 2019 after getting in what she thought was an Uber, was stabbed more than 100 times. The prosecution argued Rowland was guilty because they found Josephson’s blood in his car alongside cleaning supplies, the murder weapon matched a similar tool Rowland had, Rowland tried to sell Josephson’s phone after she went missing, Josephson’s phone and keys were found in his car, and more.

Public defender Alicia Goode, on the defense team for Rowland, told jurors that Rowland was innocent and there was no DNA evidence Josephson’s body or clothes that specifically links Rowland to her killing. The added that, despite the one hundred stab wounds, there were no bruises or marks on Rowland one might expect from such a struggle.

On Tuesday, the former girlfriend of the man accused of murdering Samantha Josephson testified Wednesday afternoon she saw him cleaning a knife and blood out of his car hours after the late student’s death.

On Wednesday, prosecutors put the man who found Josephson’s body on the stand. And in the afternoon, a woman who said she was a former girlfriend of Rowland told the jury she saw blood in his car the day after Josephson’s death and saw Rowland using surgical gloves and wipes to clean a multi-tool.

That multi-tool was shown to the jury Thursday by State Law Enforcement agent Dalila Cirencione, who announced that it was the suspected murder weapon. Cirencione was one of about 20 witnesses called Thursday, most of which included investigators and law enforcement. The defense was given the opportunity to cross examine them.

- Emily Bohatch

Follow our previous coverage here.