A man from Hartlepool has been found guilty of murdering his 19-year-old stepdaughter in a crime prosecutors described as sexually motivated. Nathan Owens, 34, was convicted after a three-week trial of strangling Carla Georgescu in February following a drive of more than 100 miles to her university accommodation in Preston.

Owens, who did not give evidence during the proceedings, reportedly smirked and made facial expressions as the details of the killing were presented in court. The verdict was delivered yesterday, with sentencing scheduled for today.

Prosecutors argued that Owens was driven by sexual jealousy after learning that Georgescu, a second-year psychology student at the University of Lancashire, planned to meet a man she had been in contact with online. Throughout the trial, it was revealed that Owens had a long-standing and disturbing fixation on his stepdaughter. Evidence included Owens having sexual interactions with an effigy dressed in her nightdress.

On the day before Georgescu was due to travel, Owens obtained access to her flat in the early hours of the morning by deceiving her. Prosecutor Nicholas Lumley KC described Owens’s intention as determined to satisfy his “sexual needs, come what may.” Lancashire Police Detective Inspector Pete Macdonald characterized Owens’s conduct as stemming from a "despicable, perverted sexual obsession."

In addition to the murder charge, Owens was found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent.