Day 4: Trial of UofSC student Samantha Josephson’s accused killer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The jury heard a lot of details about DNA analysis Friday in day four of the trial of Nathaniel Rowland.

Rowland is accused of kidnapping and killing University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson in 2019.

CASE BACKGROUND | Trial of man accused in UofSC student’s kidnapping, death set to begin

There were several SLED DNA experts who testified.

Ryan DeWane took the stand. She was the serologist, a blood serum analysis scientist, who studied the DNA in the case.

The state showed her a beanie that had been found in Rowland’s car. She said it had Rowland’s DNA and Samantha Josephson’s DNA as well.

The prosecution also asked DeWane about DNA inside the car and she said both Rowland’s DNA and Josephson’s DNA were inside the Chevy Impala.

She also said the blood on the murder weapon matched DNA belonging to Samantha Josephson and DNA matching Rowland.

DeWane also said Josephson’s DNA was under Rowland’s fingernails.

“Yes there is evidence to show that DNA is under Rowland’s nails,” DeWane said.

A Wells Fargo security expert showed a video of a man trying to use Josephson’s debit card at a drive-thru ATM in Sumter.

Another expert, Danny Conyers, said the man was wearing what appeared to be houseshoes which were the Nike Slides found in Rowland’s car.

The man in the video at the ATM tried to cover his face with a hoodie.

According to Conyers, he tried nine different times to use Josephson’s card but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Conyers said the same man tried another ATM in Columbia and was also unsuccessful because he didn’t have the correct pin number.

Court has adjourned for the night and will reconvene at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Watch what happened in court Friday in the following videos:

PREVIOUS ROWLAND TRIAL COVERAGE

• DAY 1 | His DNA not found on Samantha Josephson, but someone else’s was, defense says
• DAY 2 | Suspect’s ex-girlfriend says she saw him scrubbing car with bleach
• DAY 3 | Gruesome evidence presented from night Samantha Josephson died

LIVE TRIAL COVERAGE

Each day, look for a new story with the live stream of the trial on wistv.com or the WIS News app. Coverage will be updated throughout the day each day, until a verdict is reached.

Copyright 2021 WIS. All rights reserved.

Notice a spelling or grammar error in this article? Click or tap here to report it. Please include the article’s headline.