S5:04:117:The murder of Samantha Josephson
Your college is kid at a college hangout. Decide it's time to go home. You call an Uber. Would you ever think, but not verifying or looking at your app? That maybe. This may not be the driver. You think that it is.
This is exactly what happened to...
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Your college is kid at a college hangout. Decide it's time to go home. You call an Uber. Would you ever think, but not verifying or looking at your app? That maybe. This may not be the driver. You think that it is.
This is exactly what happened to the young lady, the subject of this episode. This is a cautionary tale. That we tell in hopes that this never happens to you. Or anyone else?
So join us as we examine the murder of, Samantha Josephson. On this episode of a day with crime
[00:01:00] What's going on, everybody. Welcome to another episode of a day where crime we are, your hosts david,
And Geneva,
you are listening to season 5 episode 4 total case number 117 Geneva. How are you doing today?
I'm doing great, dad, we moved so it's cold er there what I'm used to, but otherwise I'm doing great. How are you?
Good. It's quite frigid down here in California, 36 degrees. You've been here to visit me. So you know that, in antelope valley that is cold actually had some snow yesterday. Yes, snow in California people where I live. Otherwise, everything's going just great. So before we get started, people want to take this time talk about new feature that we do now have, and it is the ability to put in an audience member. We do have our very first audience member today. So shout out to Mariah who is listening to this live, anyone you guys listening can do the same things. As soon as an email, let us know you won't be [00:02:00] part of the audience and we will get you guys the proper link.
All right. So today's case is one of those cautionary tale cases, something that we should all do. So we're going to talk about Samantha Josephson and what happened to her. And hopefully through this case, no one will make this mistake ever again. Geneva you ready ready to talk about? Samantha Josephson today.
As ready as I'll ever be.
All right. Let's get started. So Samantha Josephson was born in Princeton, New Jersey. She grew up in Robbinsville New Jersey. She attended the university of South Carolina where she majored in political science. Samantha, who was a senior in college at the time planned on graduating in 2019 and attending Drexel [00:03:00] university school of law.
She earned a full scholarship to Drexel university, as well as a partial scholarship to Rutgers and aspire to practice international law. Samantha, a member of the alpha gamma Delta sorority studied abroad in Barcelona and visited Madrid in Paris during her time at USC. All right. So let's talk a little bit about what happened to her and why this is such a cautionary tale. So she spent the night before anything happened to her in the five points district in downtown Columbia with friends. Now, have you guys never been to the five points district? Neither have I, but I've done a lot of study into it, a college hangout.
This is where all of the college students at USC goes to hang out, especially after they've gotten done, doing things like finals, and they just want to blow off some steam. This was their main hangout at about two o'clock. Am she decided to leave the bird dog bar and [00:04:00] ordered an Uber according to surveillance footage at 2:09 AM a black Chevrolet Impala driven by Roland, pulled up beside her Samantha enter the vehicle, thinking it was her Uber driver.
And according to authorities Roland, activated the child locks so that the doors could only be open from the outside, thereby trapping Samantha inside the vehicle. Using a two bladed knife. Roland proceeded to inflict roughly 120 stab wounds upon Josephson doing the attack. Samantha attempted to shield herself.
And one of Roland strikes with completely threw her right hand, as she likely used it to protect herself. Roland. Also stabbed Josephson in her head with so much force that the knife went through her skull to her brain. And he stabbed her in the carotid one of two main arteries that carries blood to the head. Many of the wounds, especially those in her right neck and [00:05:00] right shoulder were close together. Most likely resulting from being rapidly inflicted, stab wounds. Additionally, Samantha suffered a severed hyoid bone, as well as stab wounds to her face, neck, shoulder, torso, back, lung, leg and feet.
She bled profusely ultimately dying within 10 to 20 minutes. According to the pathologist who conducted her autopsy, investigators believe Roland drag Josephson's body to the new Zion field where she would later be discovered. All right, let's talk about and unpack some of that. First of all, I have to say this, doing all of the crime shows that we've done were over 110 of those now, doing all the studies that I did and research, this has gotta be the most brutal that I have ever ran across.
Now I do know that they stated that. , possibly 120 stab [00:06:00] wounds. To be honest, they have come back and said that there were so many stab wounds that they lost count. She had probably about a teaspoon of blood left when they found her. So that means she completely bled out. So let's start from the beginning, Geneva, how you feel about this case.
So we're not going to victim shame. We never do. Her parents has come out and said the same thing to two women. So has USC about being on being careful? The first part of this is that she did not look at her Uber app to be sure that the car she was getting into was her Uber driver, which led to this. As a young woman, yourself young, still hanging out in the social world.
Talked a little bit about how you feel about just that part of it.
So I feel like this is one of those things that could literally happen to anybody, especially if you've been already been out for the night And [00:07:00] drinking or doing whatever you do, especially if , the car that pulled up, looked like the car on her app. She may not have thought to cross-reference, match up like the license plate. To make sure that it was correct, or she may have said, are you whoever the Uber driver was? And didn't wait for him to verify her name, which are things that you're told, that have been told to do, have them verify your name, don't verify their name, check license, plate numbers. I know that's a more recent update where you can actually look at the license plate number itself.
That hasn't always been, on the Uber app, but
this case makes me sad because it's one of those things that you don't think would happen to you. It's one of those things that you're like, oh, I always check to make sure that [00:08:00] the license plates match or I always check to make sure that the photograph matches the person that's driving. But when you think about it, do you actually do that every time you call an Uber or a Lyft?
And the thing is everybody's should I know this sounds ridiculous, but when I use Uber eats, I'm checking that stuff and they just deliver me my food. So just to give everybody what you should see is now the Uber app, especially now there's a picture of the person that supposedly pick you up.
Their full name is also there. Also their rating. You can look and check into what they're rating is, what people said about them. Any comments you would like to leave most importantly, the color make and model of the cars also there. And they are extremely vetted. I can only say that because I consider being an Uber driver once and I did do all of the protocols with my car.
You also at least on the caller's side of it. So if I call an Uber, [00:09:00] I also get like the option to send my location to somebody which I have utilized that before. And you do get like not a picture, but They definitely put a spot where their license plate is. So like the license plate number.
So you can match the license plate number to the car.
And now if I remember correctly, now they even have somewhat of a panic button in the app now, so that if you feel that you are in danger, you can go into your Uber app and secretly send a message saying that you need some help. I've ordered Uber is for my daughter for Madison several times. I can track her all the way through.
And I'm always a phone her saying, this is who it is. Maybe you get in the right car and you can verify that. So we need to be a little bit more diligent in that, unfortunately. All right. So after she got in the car and so this guy here Roland, was just looking to actually cause some problems that night and that's, what's coming all the investigations.
He was looking for [00:10:00] somebody to Rob and steal from. And unfortunately it just so happens. He rolls across. Samantha Josephson from everything I've read. There was nothing in the report that said that she was drunk or, discombobulated any kind of way. She was just trying to go home because she was tired.
Let's talk about the brutality of this though. The way that this crime went down, you only see this kind of crime. Usually if somebody knows that person, they have a history,maybe there's a love triangle or they did something to him. It's called overkill is what it's called. And usually overkill only takes precedence when that happens.
if I'm married to you and I cheated on you with 29 women, and now you're going to kill me, you're going to make sure I'm dead. Cause you just going to keep stabbing a bruh until he gone. That's what overkill is. There is no reason for this here, I believe. So we see what your thought pattern, this Geneva for real, everything that I've read, I believe the reason why.
[00:11:00] Samantha was stabbed so many times is because she was stronger than what he anticipated. And she actually fought back in a lot of cases. When people start fighting back, they go, I don't have any choice, but to put them down. Why do you think the 120 stab wounds plus.
So I feel like it could be a few reasons. One of those reasons is she fought back, which we know from the defensive wounds that they found. On her hand and everything like that. So it could've just been that she fought back, it made him angry or than he already was. Cause you had to be pretty angry to stab somebody to begin with.
And that led to the overkill. Another reason could have simply been that he was out to kill someone that night. We know he was out to cause damage that night because he just picks her up and then proceeds to murder her. [00:12:00] So he was out to do something to someone anyway. I didn't find it so correct me if I'm wrong.
I didn't find anything about like sexual assault or anything.
It was determined. There was no sexual assault or anything of that nature.
But I suppose, even though there was no evidence of sexual assault, it's possible that he picked her up and tried to come onto her or get her to engage in sexual activity with him. And she refused. So it led to her murder. It's a case of overkill that I have only seen in cases where the person like the people involved know each other very well.
So husband, spouses, friends a love triangle situation like you presented, but it seems that these two had no prior knowledge of each other Roland [00:13:00] was just out to wreck havoc for whatever reason.
So let's talk a little bit about what happened after this, the investigation and going into the criminal proceedings. What happened to Roland and all that good stuff. So Samantha's roommates became concerned and they reported her missing the day after she accidentally entered the vehicle. So up to this point, Samantha just didn't come home that night.
Nobody knows why it's, her roommates, like this is not like her. So let's go follow this report. After that her body was then found in a field in the town of new Zion in Clarendon county, by turkey hunters. 14 hours after the kidnapping, according to police, the area where Josephson's body was located is we're Roland recently, resided an autopsy showed that she died of multiple sharp force injuries.
Specifically the pathologist determined that she suffered approximately one in 20 separate stab wounds. And he could not determine an exact number [00:14:00] because there were so many it's, like I said earlier, they just, after the 120 just gave up, it was too many Samantha's autopsy also revealed the extent of her blood loss.
The human body normally has several liters of blood, but Samantha's body only contained 1.3 tablespoons of blood. Nathaniel Roland was seen by police driving a car that matched the description of the one Samantha was seen entering in the surveillance video. When Nathaniel Roland, who was driving around the five points area where Samantha was kidnapped was pulled over.
He got out of the car and ran away. He was caught and was arrested at 3:00 AM on March 30th inside the car, police found a container of liquid bleach germicidal wipes and window cleaner. The car also contained Josephson's phone as well as a large amount of her blood, which was in the passenger seat and in the trunk.
Additionally, the child locks were activated, [00:15:00] which police believe prevented Samantha from escaping. When investigators searched the trash behind Nathaniel Roland's girlfriend's residence, they uncovered cleaning supplies and a two bladed knife. Both of which had Samantha's blood on them Samantha's blood was also found on a sock and a bandana, both owned by Roland.
Additionally Samantha's DNA was collected from Roland's fingernails. Nathaniel Roland was charged with kidnapping. Murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
In addition to Samantha's murder, Roland is alleged to have sold items that were stolen from a woman, doing a kidnapping in Columbia. The alleged victim was carjacked by two men while at a traffic light in October of 2018 and the car jackers allegedly, physically assaulted the victim and then forced her to drive to an ATM where they robbed her of money before forcing her to drive to her home . where they, again [00:16:00] robbed her of items, including a PlayStation four, according to Richland county deputies hours after the alleged kidnapping, Roland sold some of the items stolen from the woman, including the PlayStation four at a pawn shop, and Roland was charged with obtaining goods under false premises.
On June 9th, 2020,Nathaniel Roland was denied bond and a virtual hearing family members for both Samantha and Nathaniel deliver statements in front of judge Benjamin on July 20th, 2021. Roland's trial began during the trial prosecutors call 31 witnesses, including the Turkey hunter who found Samantha's body, a cell phone store owner who testified that Roland unsuccessfully attempted to sell him Samantha's phone.
The day after she went missing Roland's former girlfriend and numerous state law enforcement division investigators, and other experts, Roland's defense attorneys called no witnesses. and Roland did not [00:17:00] testify on July 27 of 2021. Nathaniel Roland was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Samantha and of possessing a weapon during the violent crime.
After the jury deliberated for a little over an hour immediately after Roland's conviction. State circuit, judge Clifton Newman, sentence him to life in prison for whoever asks me for leniency. That's not part of my DNA said, judge Newman, there's a thousand trails. Each that led to you all of the evidence, each speck of the evidence, not simply beyond a reasonable doubt, but as the highest standard, the law requires all points to your guilt.
Newman also characterize Rowling as being heartless and said the case was the most severe murder he had seen in court before. Let's unpack. That is very powerful. What Newman said, because I think I'm on the video that I seen. He said that he had been in law enforcement in the judge for more than 30 years.
And in 30 years he [00:18:00] could never find another case as brutal as this one. So let's talk about, as you would say, the one thing that yuck my yum, if you don't get the drift where he said that those who asked me for leading is not building my DNA. That's because, Nathaniel Roland's mom asked for leniency now, before I say this, yeah, I'm black too.
I know black people stand behind their kids. I'm sure a lot of white people do too, but black people is the worst one. They care don't did something. They, the first one that court goes, oh my God, he can't be my kid. He didn't do this. Look, this is what Nathaniel Roland's mom did. She has to judge leniency. She also told them that they had the wrong dude, that they was framing him.
Wasn't the right guy at all. And they need to let him go. I guess she has problems reading because, all the evidence pointed to him, cell phone skin on the fingernails. I'm sorry, parents, if your kid did something, you just gotta stand up. my mom always told me if you did something wrong and you in jail, don't call me.[00:19:00]
Cause I'm gonna tell the judge to do anything to you, but kill you. But if you did the crime, do the time, let's talk about that. Geneva you, a mom, how you feel. when Nathaniel Roland's mom completely showing out. And she pretty much throw herself on the podium. Hey, my son got the wrong man. This is what always happens to a black man in the criminal justice system. These are the things that she threw out there. What's your thought about it?
Truthfully, I thought the show that she put on, I hate to say that it was a bit dramatic for me, but it was a bit dramatic for me. I. I understand as a parent, that you would not want to believe that your child did something as horrific as Nathaniel Roland. Did I get it? I understand that you don't want to embrace that [00:20:00] or acknowledge it or whatever my problem comes when they have the evidence pointing toward him from blood in his car to DNA under Samantha's fingernails, et cetera, et cetera.
And then you scream leniency and try to use the black card as the reason why there should be leniency and why she thinks it's a conspiracy to set her son up
I mean as a father of six children, if somebody came and said, your son just killed this girl, I would want to believe that either. But if you got all the evidence and staring at you, I'm like, I'm sorry, son. Ain't nothing I could do for you, bro. Why'd you go do it as a dad. I'll probably be more encouraged for him to tell the truth because it's not just about how I feel as his parent of what he's done or what he's done is owed too, that victim's family to [00:21:00] know whatever it is they want to know.
And I've always felt like if you big and bad enough to take somebody's life, then you should be big and bad enough to face all the consequences, which includes having to answer to that person's family. They have to live with this, the rest of their lives in the little bit of closure you can give that you should give it always wonder what, her family felt right there.
Sitting there as hearing the mom pretty much being mad that my son is innocent and he's not. People of all colored, yeah. We hate the fact that our kids do things, but if your kids and does something and you got the evidence to prove it, unfortunately we have the and what it is to support them the way that you can.
But Nathaniel was a hundred percent guilty. What do you think about all the crimes that he did before? So before we even run into Samantha, he's already done a car jacked some lady took her to the ATM steal money from dad, take her to her home. Now this is a bold embracing, took her to her [00:22:00] home, stole a PS4. Okay.
These are the most dumbest criminals I've ever seen. The one thing you never do is you don't ever go on somebody else's turf. You don't know what they got. Somebody should have been there to shotgun just blased him back to the door. what's your thought about that? So the criminal activity they did beforehand.
My question for this is, does his mother believe he didn't commit those crimes as well?
The way I took it, his mom don't believe he's done anything that he's ever been convicted of. She feels like that he is, another black man that the society and the criminal justice has done him wrong. I agree. We have a lot of them, but Nathaniel was not one of them.
I'm speechless I don't know because has a criminal record that they can trace. This is not just like a case of he had a bad day and decided to, murder Samantha as like a crime of opportunity. [00:23:00] I feel like this was a planned out thing. Let me see who I can trick to get into my car by looking like a car ride service, then do what I'm going to do.
And he has history of kidnapping that doesn't. Appear to end in murder, it did result in a physical assault, allegedly because it is alleged, but even so that resulted in a car, jacking, a physical assault, a kidnap, and then going back to the person's house to steal their P their PlayStation, allegedly. So that's a problem for me because that shows a pattern, but also a very quick escalation in crime. Cause the carjacking in the assault apparently happened with him and another person. [00:24:00] This crime of murder happened with just him. So not only did he escalate, but he also became a solo perpetrator. So I hate to tell. Mrs. Roland here, but he's guilty. It's such a senseless crime too. And I think that's one of the things that bothers me the most is this crime is such a senseless crime that easily could have been avoided, but she was just trying to go home. I don't even feel like I can say, she was purposely careless, to me, that's victim blaming. I feel like it was more of a, this looks like the car I'm ready to go home. I want to leave. And so she got in the car.
And I'm sure he was perfectly nice to her when she greeted him before getting in the car.
So I'm sure there were no red flags until she was in the car and child locked inside.
and just looking at her and all the overview I've done about [00:25:00] Samantha she reminds me of what she reminds me a lot of Madison. And this is what scares me about Madison, that in her heart and mind, she just wants to believe that inherently people are good. So my thought pattern is, cause this is how Madison would be.
If she got into the wrong Uber or the wrong car, does that Uber, the person would say, excuse me, who are you? Why are you in my car? All I'm not your Uber driver. I'm sorry. That didn't happen. The sad thing is the actual Uber car pulled up about two seconds after Nathaniel did according to the video. So that's why I say I don't want to be too hard on her because I have a daughter that I worry about every day and she's the same way she does inherently feels that nobody's going to go out of their way to harm you.
And if you make a mistake, they go to correct you of that mistake. And in this case, that didn't happen, which is why we need to be a little bit more on the careful side, especially [00:26:00] in these days and times
if I'm going to be honest, when I first started taking Uber, I was relatively careless about it. Now this was before they had all the features they have. Now, when Uber first came to the area in Florida that I lived in, they only gave you the name of the driver, the rating, and the picture.
There was no way to track your location. Unless you sent your location from your phone, like an app in your phone, there wasn't one built into the Uber app. There wasn't any kind of indication of what their license plate was. So you had to literally go off of making sure the picture matched.
And hoping that the car matched, that's what you had to go off of when I first started taking Uber. , but we also weren't told it to have them verify your name. So I would be like, oh, hi, are you Adam to [00:27:00] the Uber driver? And they'd be like, yes. And I'd look and just get in the car and be like, okay, to my destination.
I go, which is not safe at all. And now with all the features that Uber has, it is harder. I feel or less likely that something like this will happen, but.
it's obviously still happening and in 2019. So while they've added a lot of features, she tried to stop these things or mitigate these things from happening.
They're still happening. And that, for me, that is that's sad And.
rough, But I think a lot of people that take Uber want to believe that people that are driving Uber's are inherently good people. We don't want to have to think about, oh, [00:28:00] we could be getting into an Uber with a killer that would make you never want to take an Uber.
So let's talk a little bit about his sentencing. See, do we agree with that? his mom had a fit because he was denied bond. Like I said, when he actually got convicted, they did put them away for kidnapping and for possessing a weapon, doing a violent crime. And it only took the jury a little over an hour.
And then the judge gave him life in prison for one, I think if you've got to dissolve podcast over the last three years, I've said this before I've sat on many, a jury, it wouldn't have took me no hour. They could have took me back into the room, said, let's deliberate. We didn't put the jury foreman. If it was me, I'm like guilty while we've been wasting time.
All that is a guilty. What do you think? You think he got a fair sentence?
Short of a death sentence. I don't know how much more. Fair. It could be
[00:29:00] I'm going to tell you guys this, and you guys know that Geneva and I, we are not big fans of the criminal justice systems. We're not big fans of the police. We've told you guys, there's so many different cases that we've done, but I'm going to tell you this flat out, the judge got this one, 100% correct. As you guys know, I do not agree with the death penalty.
I don't think anybody could whip you as bad as God can. And everyday you sit in that cell you got live with what you did with yourself. He'll never see the light of day again. And no matter what his mama says, all the evidence points to him. The judge got this one, right? You want to see no protest from me.
And if you ever watched the video. I'll put one down of the judge talking in the show notes, he is very disturbed, and he didn't really know what to say. and it looked like that he was offended that anybody would even ask for leniency to see for this dude after what he had pulled.
So I think judge Newman got it. Right. What'd you gotta say about judge Newman, Geneva.
Listen, [00:30:00] judge Newman said exactly what he needed to say. My favorite line from judge Newman is for whoever asked me for leniency. That's not part of my DNA. Okay, judge Newman. I see you because I honestly was surprised by the show that, Roland's mother put on. like you said, black mothers especially tend to, fight to the death for their children, which is fine. But with all of that evidence, ma'am I'm sorry. I just don't see how you could, and I guess the asking for leniency thing I could get behind if a, she wasn't so dramatic about it and B she didn't completely try to deny that he had done anything. What tipped me over the edge was the, [00:31:00] she wanted to try to equate this to, he's black. So you guys are trying to frame. that's where it lost me, because I was like, I get wanting leniency for your child. Is your child fine, but why did you have to throw a race card in there? What did you think that would accomplish?
lot of it is too. We, as black Americans got to stop doing that, right? A lot of us look at what's going on politically or has gone on and they're attached to it. They're looking at the date is 2021. We just got done with the whole George Floyd thing in 2020. There's a lot of people out here that was screaming, racial injustice.
When they know they went and committed a crime as a race that makes us weak because it now it looks like, it says one dude just got killed on just leave in the last six months or whatever. Since this case happened, we just go and play the race card. Everything is not racial some things it's just factual and they're laid out in front of your face of [00:32:00] what it is.
I'm black proud to be black. We'll always support black, but I'm always going to support the right side and not the wrong side. His mama know that Nathaniel been doing dirt for years, but because especially a lot of African-Americans, we feel like our kids represent us. That's true in any race. I tell my kids that right now, I'm like, whatever you go out there and do reflects on us.
And people think that you was raised that way. So when you go out, make sure you act like you got some sense that you was raised with, but no matter what kind of parents you are, sometimes your children just go by the wayside that has nothing to do with you. If you did everything that you're supposed to do correctly, that's just the path that your child chose.
And unfortunately, we have to accept that Alright . Let's talk a little bit about the legacies that she left behind before we get up outta here. So after their daughters death samantha's parents established the what's. My name foundation. The foundation works to [00:33:00] educate people about rideshare safety, along with supporting charitable foundations and awarding college scholarships.
Samantha's parents have worked with lawmakers to advocate for policies that enhance safety for rideshare passengers. Several laws have been enacted since Samantha's death. I do want to say this, see what your thought is on this too. I do get my hats off to Samantha's parents because out of everything I've seen with these people, they never, one time said that my daughter had no right to do this, or my daughter shouldn't have to look at her app.
They have been preaching for people to look at apps and verify they were the first ones to come out and say, maybe if our daughter would have done this, she would still be here today. How do you feel about her parents stands on how they find with that?
Honestly, I commend them. I do, because we see a lot of times when. Things [00:34:00] similar to this, whether that is people , in a kind of a secluded area with headphones and they get kidnapped off the trail, things like that. We see the parents saying, if this person hadn't been there, this wouldn't have happened, which is true. But I do think that it's also important to make sure that we're giving a message of what can be done so that this doesn't happen to another person or so we can avoid it happening to another person.
So I personally commend Samantha's parents for coming out and saying, make sure to check your apps, verify whose car you're getting into you. Don't just glance at the app and then get into the car. I commend that because that is a proactive step and a more of, advice or safety tips of how to be [00:35:00] safer while using car ride services or really anything. if you're out jogging, maybe only wear one headphone or make sure that your, whatever setting on your headphones, if there is one, make sure not to use like noise canceling headphones, make sure you have one where you can hear the things surrounding you. I just feel like that message needs to be out more than this person did this.
If they weren't in that place at that time, it wouldn't have happened. And I understand that's also true, I think most people are trying to make the world safer by speaking out and saying, this is how this happens. This is where something went wrong. Make sure to do this. If you are in a situation where this thing could happen to you as well.
I agree. Our agree also on June 5th, 2019, the Samantha L Josephson ride sharing safety act was [00:36:00] signed into law in South Carolina. Yeah, it requires riser vehicles to display license plate numbers on the front. The law also subjects, people who misrepresent themselves as authorized transportation network company drivers to a maximum $500 fine.
And those who use TNC ride sharing application in the furthest of criminal activity to a maximum of $1,000. Fine. In addition to facing fines, one guilty of misrepresenting themselves as an authorized TNC driver may be incarcerated for up to 30 days while one who uses ride sharing in the furtherance of criminal activity may face up to two years of incarcerated.
Also in June, 2019, New Jersey, governor Phil Murphy signed Sammy's law, which requires more identification or rise your vehicles specifically, the law requires companies to issue two credential placards to drivers of Reiser vehicles. These placards, which are to be placed on the driver and [00:37:00] passenger side back windows must have the driver's name and photo along with their license plate number rideshare vehicles must also have an identifying marker on the front windshield and back window.
Additionally, companies must give rideshare drivers two bar codes that passengers can scan to confirm the drivers identity. Samantha's murder prompted lawmakers in North Carolina to propose the passenger protection act. The act requires rideshare drivers to display printed license plate number on the front of their vehicles.
And as of July 1st, 2020. To have illuminated signs on their vehicles. The act creates a new criminal penalty for impersonating a ride share driver and mates assaulting a ride share driver or misdemeanor. Additionally, it provides $500,000 in grants for colleges to educate students about ricer safety and creates a study commission to examine ways to improve ride share safety.
The law was signed by governor Roy Cooper in [00:38:00] August of 2019. Additional legislation aimed at protecting rideshare users is pending in April of 2019. Senator Anna Kaplan introduced the Samantha L Josephson ride sharing safety act to the New York Senate. The act, which is currently in the transportation committee requires rideshare drivers to display visible, consistent, and distinctive signage.
Clearly identifying the ride, share service provider at all times. When the driver is active on the service platform or providing ride share service, the signs must be readable from a distance of 50 feet during daylight hours and should be illuminated at night so that the logo is patently visible. And her parents also know working with the United States Congress, they craft a federal law to enhance rideshare safety in the bill, which is also titled Sammy's law was introduced on June 13th, 2019.
It does require ride share vehicles to have front plates, license plates and illuminated. So they got all that good stuff [00:39:00] passed. All of that good came out of somebody having to die. Unfortunately, . A lot of those things they pass. Our thoughts have always been there.
Always said maybe they should have an illuminated sign that had a special code that only the driver and the person knew down here. A lot of the drivers who have been driving for a long time, they were giving distinct luminated signs from Uber. one of my friends I work with, he has over 400 rides he was the first one that got it.
to give more distinction, the light Geneva said, you can go buy these things off of Ebay, having a personalized where your photo and your license plate is on it. You can't sell that.
You can, also, especially on places like Etsy, people are doing a lot of things with like your like social media, right? So like they're doing like a lot of picture frames that hold your Snapchat, QR code. You can get something similar like that from Uber, but I'm pretty sure it comes directly from Uber.[00:40:00]
There are people that drive for Uber. In Florida there were a lot of people that were starting to change over to the illuminated sign that also had the, like a code And.
their picture on it, which that is much more difficult to get from somewhere else that would look authentic.
In Florida, the color of the Uber sign that you actually got from being part of Uber looked different. Like it, maybe it was blue instead of red or something like that. And on the ones I seen on Amazon and sites similar to that have not been the right.
color or they're like a dullar color.
if you know what you're looking at, they're not authentic. Uber or Lyft signs. But if you're just looking for someone that has that in their window, I don't know how much attention you would necessarily pay to it.
So with that being [00:41:00] said, Geneva, what is your final thoughts on the Samantha Josephson murder?
as always my thoughts and prayers go out to her family that is in her friends as well. That's tragic. I definitely feel like this was something that could have been avoided regardless of how it could have been avoided. I feel like this is a senseless crime. there, there was no reason for this to happen. as far as. Nathaniel Roland, in my opinion, he got exactly what he deserved. I'm not one for the death penalty. I'm pretty sure we've talked about that on here before. I fail to see what good the death penalty does because if you're sitting in a prison and rotting there, eventually you're going to die.
Anyway. I don't see what ending the perpetrators suffering [00:42:00] sooner does. There are some cases where they like asked to be, executed. That's a little different in my opinion, but nonetheless, he is where he deserves to be. He's not getting out. I feel badly for his mom, but also. I'm not sure how she can completely deny it.
So those are my final thoughts. How about you Dad?
my final thoughs is a sad case. Indeed. Like Geneva, my heart goes out to the family for Samantha Josephson. May she rest in peace? Yes, Nathaniel exactly what he needs to be to piggyback off of what Geneva was saying. It is true, especially in African-American circles. They feel like that if the child goes up to be some type of a criminal is because he wasn't raised right.
Or she wasn't raised right. Or we was raised in a poor environment or whatever that case is. So I do know how that is. However, sometimes when the evidence is staring you dead in your face, you have [00:43:00] no other option, but to accept it for what it is. And that is what the case is here with Nathaniel, I will point these couple of things out, being that we're talking about safety issues for one with Uber, please always make sure even when they're delivering my food now, who would drive with shout my name out.
That's what they're supposed to do anyways. So that you know, that's who you posed to be with. That person has no other reason to know your name, unless that is your driver. always make sure you check that app, make sure that everything matches up before you get into the car. As sad as it is.
As many people out here that has arterial motives lighten,Nathanieldid and want to get you into a car and Rob you for whatever they want to do. Also hold your tech companies responsible. This is a lot of reasons why apple has the followers that they do. They are very into health and awareness, which is why the AirPod pros was made.
The way that they are was what I carry. They have a mode in there where [00:44:00] everything comes into your ears. Okay? So you can have total noise cancellation or you can have what they call transparency mode. If you by yourself, no matter what headphones you use, no matter what company is made by a hold that company responsible.
If your favorite pair of headphones, don't have these things, ask the company while they're not making them for your seat. And if you have those, please always make sure you have that transparency mode turned on. So you can hear when you're all by yourself, especially the young ladies of the world,
but remember you pay these companies no matter who they are, LG, apple, Samsung, Sony, whoever they are, you pay them a lot of money every year. And you should have devices that you feel totally safe with. So guys, please make sure you're being careful out there that this be a cautionary tale. And hopefully we never have to do another story like this one ever again.
All right, God. So that does it for this one. We thank [00:45:00] you for tuning in. We hope that you did learn something from this episode. Geneva, do you have any shout outs?
Yes, I do have a shout out this week. She does post little snippets of the podcast to her Instagram feed as well. If you want to look at that before deciding, lovers and friends with Shan, BU DRAM. It's an 18 plus please. No children go listen to it. Do you have any showers this week, dad?
I do. And my shout out has absolutely nothing to do with podcasts, audio books, any of that kind of stuff. it does do it, what we have to do a lot of though, which is reading. And I feel like that this person needs to be brought to the forefront. So today my shout out goes to a young lady named Kristen who runs a kats Creations 614 on Etsy.
[00:46:00] What she does. And she builds digital planners and journals of all kinds. And let me say that she does the best job I've ever seen. So for me, again, and have to give credit to my daughter, she got a reading journal from her a long time ago, said, dad, you should get a reading journal. Of course I say why and then she sold me hers.
I said, okay, let me order one. So the first one that the young lady did for me was very good. And then all of a sudden I found out about a month or two ago that she had new planters. So I had her build me another one. Now what'd you guys understand that I'm the only guy that she's ever built. One of these four.
So all of her themes and stickers and everything else that goes with the journal was centered around female. She also has her own reading club called Kats book nerds. And I, at this point, I'm the only male in that group too, as well. So I went back to her and I said, I want a black Panther themed journal.
And once again, [00:47:00] she didn't disappoint. It was fabulous. She even got the Wakanda text writing down to the whole thing. So if you guys are into any kind of journals, reading, live journal, Bible journals, any journal you can think of, she can make dudes out there. I don't know what y'all polymers are.
Reading. Reading is fundamental. Get yourself a reading journal and make you feel better. I keep track of everything I read throughout the year, and I'm in several challenges over there. So Kristin, over at Katz creation 6 1 4. That is my shout out. Be sure to check her out and I'll post some, images of my journal on the website.
I just want to add all of her. yeah, all of her custom journals at least are also can also come as a principal option. So if you are not a person that does digital planning like dad and I do on our iPads or whatever tablet you have, she does have a printable option that is a digital download, and then you can print it at home so you can print [00:48:00] it out as many times as you want as well.
I just wanted to add that because some people don't know.
And she is carrying five stars. I haven't found one bad review on her yet. You also find my review for her on that page. So make sure you go to kats creations over on Etsy. I will post the link in the show. Note, pay her a visit, tell him that we sent you.
All right, guys. as always, we thank you for joining us. I know you have many options in true crime podcasts, but for the last three and a half years, we are glad that you have made us one of your options. There's always a hope you guys are being safe out there. Take care of yourself and each other.
And as always Don't commit any crimes out there.
So you don't end up on our podcast.[00:49:00]
Don’t commit any crimes our there…So you DON’T end up on our podcast!
KATScreation's Custom Journals
Your college is kid at a college hangout. Decide it's time to go home. You call an Uber. Would you ever think, but not verifying or looking at your app? That maybe. This may not be the driver. You think that it is.
This is exactly what happened to the young lady, the subject of this episode. This is a cautionary tale. That we tell in hopes that this never happens to you. Or anyone else?
So join us as we examine the murder of, Samantha Josephson. On this episode of a day with crime
[00:01:00] What's going on, everybody. Welcome to another episode of a day where crime we are, your hosts david,
And Geneva,
you are listening to season 5 episode 4 total case number 117 Geneva. How are you doing today?
I'm doing great, dad, we moved so it's cold er there what I'm used to, but otherwise I'm doing great. How are you?
Good. It's quite frigid down here in California, 36 degrees. You've been here to visit me. So you know that, in antelope valley that is cold actually had some snow yesterday. Yes, snow in California people where I live. Otherwise, everything's going just great. So before we get started, people want to take this time talk about new feature that we do now have, and it is the ability to put in an audience member. We do have our very first audience member today. So shout out to Mariah who is listening to this live, anyone you guys listening can do the same things. As soon as an email, let us know you won't be [00:02:00] part of the audience and we will get you guys the proper link.
All right. So today's case is one of those cautionary tale cases, something that we should all do. So we're going to talk about Samantha Josephson and what happened to her. And hopefully through this case, no one will make this mistake ever again. Geneva you ready ready to talk about? Samantha Josephson today.
As ready as I'll ever be.
All right. Let's get started. So Samantha Josephson was born in Princeton, New Jersey. She grew up in Robbinsville New Jersey. She attended the university of South Carolina where she majored in political science. Samantha, who was a senior in college at the time planned on graduating in 2019 and attending Drexel [00:03:00] university school of law.
She earned a full scholarship to Drexel university, as well as a partial scholarship to Rutgers and aspire to practice international law. Samantha, a member of the alpha gamma Delta sorority studied abroad in Barcelona and visited Madrid in Paris during her time at USC. All right. So let's talk a little bit about what happened to her and why this is such a cautionary tale. So she spent the night before anything happened to her in the five points district in downtown Columbia with friends. Now, have you guys never been to the five points district? Neither have I, but I've done a lot of study into it, a college hangout.
This is where all of the college students at USC goes to hang out, especially after they've gotten done, doing things like finals, and they just want to blow off some steam. This was their main hangout at about two o'clock. Am she decided to leave the bird dog bar and [00:04:00] ordered an Uber according to surveillance footage at 2:09 AM a black Chevrolet Impala driven by Roland, pulled up beside her Samantha enter the vehicle, thinking it was her Uber driver.
And according to authorities Roland, activated the child locks so that the doors could only be open from the outside, thereby trapping Samantha inside the vehicle. Using a two bladed knife. Roland proceeded to inflict roughly 120 stab wounds upon Josephson doing the attack. Samantha attempted to shield herself.
And one of Roland strikes with completely threw her right hand, as she likely used it to protect herself. Roland. Also stabbed Josephson in her head with so much force that the knife went through her skull to her brain. And he stabbed her in the carotid one of two main arteries that carries blood to the head. Many of the wounds, especially those in her right neck and [00:05:00] right shoulder were close together. Most likely resulting from being rapidly inflicted, stab wounds. Additionally, Samantha suffered a severed hyoid bone, as well as stab wounds to her face, neck, shoulder, torso, back, lung, leg and feet.
She bled profusely ultimately dying within 10 to 20 minutes. According to the pathologist who conducted her autopsy, investigators believe Roland drag Josephson's body to the new Zion field where she would later be discovered. All right, let's talk about and unpack some of that. First of all, I have to say this, doing all of the crime shows that we've done were over 110 of those now, doing all the studies that I did and research, this has gotta be the most brutal that I have ever ran across.
Now I do know that they stated that. , possibly 120 stab [00:06:00] wounds. To be honest, they have come back and said that there were so many stab wounds that they lost count. She had probably about a teaspoon of blood left when they found her. So that means she completely bled out. So let's start from the beginning, Geneva, how you feel about this case.
So we're not going to victim shame. We never do. Her parents has come out and said the same thing to two women. So has USC about being on being careful? The first part of this is that she did not look at her Uber app to be sure that the car she was getting into was her Uber driver, which led to this. As a young woman, yourself young, still hanging out in the social world.
Talked a little bit about how you feel about just that part of it.
So I feel like this is one of those things that could literally happen to anybody, especially if you've been already been out for the night And [00:07:00] drinking or doing whatever you do, especially if , the car that pulled up, looked like the car on her app. She may not have thought to cross-reference, match up like the license plate. To make sure that it was correct, or she may have said, are you whoever the Uber driver was? And didn't wait for him to verify her name, which are things that you're told, that have been told to do, have them verify your name, don't verify their name, check license, plate numbers. I know that's a more recent update where you can actually look at the license plate number itself.
That hasn't always been, on the Uber app, but
this case makes me sad because it's one of those things that you don't think would happen to you. It's one of those things that you're like, oh, I always check to make sure that [00:08:00] the license plates match or I always check to make sure that the photograph matches the person that's driving. But when you think about it, do you actually do that every time you call an Uber or a Lyft?
And the thing is everybody's should I know this sounds ridiculous, but when I use Uber eats, I'm checking that stuff and they just deliver me my food. So just to give everybody what you should see is now the Uber app, especially now there's a picture of the person that supposedly pick you up.
Their full name is also there. Also their rating. You can look and check into what they're rating is, what people said about them. Any comments you would like to leave most importantly, the color make and model of the cars also there. And they are extremely vetted. I can only say that because I consider being an Uber driver once and I did do all of the protocols with my car.
You also at least on the caller's side of it. So if I call an Uber, [00:09:00] I also get like the option to send my location to somebody which I have utilized that before. And you do get like not a picture, but They definitely put a spot where their license plate is. So like the license plate number.
So you can match the license plate number to the car.
And now if I remember correctly, now they even have somewhat of a panic button in the app now, so that if you feel that you are in danger, you can go into your Uber app and secretly send a message saying that you need some help. I've ordered Uber is for my daughter for Madison several times. I can track her all the way through.
And I'm always a phone her saying, this is who it is. Maybe you get in the right car and you can verify that. So we need to be a little bit more diligent in that, unfortunately. All right. So after she got in the car and so this guy here Roland, was just looking to actually cause some problems that night and that's, what's coming all the investigations.
He was looking for [00:10:00] somebody to Rob and steal from. And unfortunately it just so happens. He rolls across. Samantha Josephson from everything I've read. There was nothing in the report that said that she was drunk or, discombobulated any kind of way. She was just trying to go home because she was tired.
Let's talk about the brutality of this though. The way that this crime went down, you only see this kind of crime. Usually if somebody knows that person, they have a history,maybe there's a love triangle or they did something to him. It's called overkill is what it's called. And usually overkill only takes precedence when that happens.
if I'm married to you and I cheated on you with 29 women, and now you're going to kill me, you're going to make sure I'm dead. Cause you just going to keep stabbing a bruh until he gone. That's what overkill is. There is no reason for this here, I believe. So we see what your thought pattern, this Geneva for real, everything that I've read, I believe the reason why.
[00:11:00] Samantha was stabbed so many times is because she was stronger than what he anticipated. And she actually fought back in a lot of cases. When people start fighting back, they go, I don't have any choice, but to put them down. Why do you think the 120 stab wounds plus.
So I feel like it could be a few reasons. One of those reasons is she fought back, which we know from the defensive wounds that they found. On her hand and everything like that. So it could've just been that she fought back, it made him angry or than he already was. Cause you had to be pretty angry to stab somebody to begin with.
And that led to the overkill. Another reason could have simply been that he was out to kill someone that night. We know he was out to cause damage that night because he just picks her up and then proceeds to murder her. [00:12:00] So he was out to do something to someone anyway. I didn't find it so correct me if I'm wrong.
I didn't find anything about like sexual assault or anything.
It was determined. There was no sexual assault or anything of that nature.
But I suppose, even though there was no evidence of sexual assault, it's possible that he picked her up and tried to come onto her or get her to engage in sexual activity with him. And she refused. So it led to her murder. It's a case of overkill that I have only seen in cases where the person like the people involved know each other very well.
So husband, spouses, friends a love triangle situation like you presented, but it seems that these two had no prior knowledge of each other Roland [00:13:00] was just out to wreck havoc for whatever reason.
So let's talk a little bit about what happened after this, the investigation and going into the criminal proceedings. What happened to Roland and all that good stuff. So Samantha's roommates became concerned and they reported her missing the day after she accidentally entered the vehicle. So up to this point, Samantha just didn't come home that night.
Nobody knows why it's, her roommates, like this is not like her. So let's go follow this report. After that her body was then found in a field in the town of new Zion in Clarendon county, by turkey hunters. 14 hours after the kidnapping, according to police, the area where Josephson's body was located is we're Roland recently, resided an autopsy showed that she died of multiple sharp force injuries.
Specifically the pathologist determined that she suffered approximately one in 20 separate stab wounds. And he could not determine an exact number [00:14:00] because there were so many it's, like I said earlier, they just, after the 120 just gave up, it was too many Samantha's autopsy also revealed the extent of her blood loss.
The human body normally has several liters of blood, but Samantha's body only contained 1.3 tablespoons of blood. Nathaniel Roland was seen by police driving a car that matched the description of the one Samantha was seen entering in the surveillance video. When Nathaniel Roland, who was driving around the five points area where Samantha was kidnapped was pulled over.
He got out of the car and ran away. He was caught and was arrested at 3:00 AM on March 30th inside the car, police found a container of liquid bleach germicidal wipes and window cleaner. The car also contained Josephson's phone as well as a large amount of her blood, which was in the passenger seat and in the trunk.
Additionally, the child locks were activated, [00:15:00] which police believe prevented Samantha from escaping. When investigators searched the trash behind Nathaniel Roland's girlfriend's residence, they uncovered cleaning supplies and a two bladed knife. Both of which had Samantha's blood on them Samantha's blood was also found on a sock and a bandana, both owned by Roland.
Additionally Samantha's DNA was collected from Roland's fingernails. Nathaniel Roland was charged with kidnapping. Murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
In addition to Samantha's murder, Roland is alleged to have sold items that were stolen from a woman, doing a kidnapping in Columbia. The alleged victim was carjacked by two men while at a traffic light in October of 2018 and the car jackers allegedly, physically assaulted the victim and then forced her to drive to an ATM where they robbed her of money before forcing her to drive to her home . where they, again [00:16:00] robbed her of items, including a PlayStation four, according to Richland county deputies hours after the alleged kidnapping, Roland sold some of the items stolen from the woman, including the PlayStation four at a pawn shop, and Roland was charged with obtaining goods under false premises.
On June 9th, 2020,Nathaniel Roland was denied bond and a virtual hearing family members for both Samantha and Nathaniel deliver statements in front of judge Benjamin on July 20th, 2021. Roland's trial began during the trial prosecutors call 31 witnesses, including the Turkey hunter who found Samantha's body, a cell phone store owner who testified that Roland unsuccessfully attempted to sell him Samantha's phone.
The day after she went missing Roland's former girlfriend and numerous state law enforcement division investigators, and other experts, Roland's defense attorneys called no witnesses. and Roland did not [00:17:00] testify on July 27 of 2021. Nathaniel Roland was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Samantha and of possessing a weapon during the violent crime.
After the jury deliberated for a little over an hour immediately after Roland's conviction. State circuit, judge Clifton Newman, sentence him to life in prison for whoever asks me for leniency. That's not part of my DNA said, judge Newman, there's a thousand trails. Each that led to you all of the evidence, each speck of the evidence, not simply beyond a reasonable doubt, but as the highest standard, the law requires all points to your guilt.
Newman also characterize Rowling as being heartless and said the case was the most severe murder he had seen in court before. Let's unpack. That is very powerful. What Newman said, because I think I'm on the video that I seen. He said that he had been in law enforcement in the judge for more than 30 years.
And in 30 years he [00:18:00] could never find another case as brutal as this one. So let's talk about, as you would say, the one thing that yuck my yum, if you don't get the drift where he said that those who asked me for leading is not building my DNA. That's because, Nathaniel Roland's mom asked for leniency now, before I say this, yeah, I'm black too.
I know black people stand behind their kids. I'm sure a lot of white people do too, but black people is the worst one. They care don't did something. They, the first one that court goes, oh my God, he can't be my kid. He didn't do this. Look, this is what Nathaniel Roland's mom did. She has to judge leniency. She also told them that they had the wrong dude, that they was framing him.
Wasn't the right guy at all. And they need to let him go. I guess she has problems reading because, all the evidence pointed to him, cell phone skin on the fingernails. I'm sorry, parents, if your kid did something, you just gotta stand up. my mom always told me if you did something wrong and you in jail, don't call me.[00:19:00]
Cause I'm gonna tell the judge to do anything to you, but kill you. But if you did the crime, do the time, let's talk about that. Geneva you, a mom, how you feel. when Nathaniel Roland's mom completely showing out. And she pretty much throw herself on the podium. Hey, my son got the wrong man. This is what always happens to a black man in the criminal justice system. These are the things that she threw out there. What's your thought about it?
Truthfully, I thought the show that she put on, I hate to say that it was a bit dramatic for me, but it was a bit dramatic for me. I. I understand as a parent, that you would not want to believe that your child did something as horrific as Nathaniel Roland. Did I get it? I understand that you don't want to embrace that [00:20:00] or acknowledge it or whatever my problem comes when they have the evidence pointing toward him from blood in his car to DNA under Samantha's fingernails, et cetera, et cetera.
And then you scream leniency and try to use the black card as the reason why there should be leniency and why she thinks it's a conspiracy to set her son up
I mean as a father of six children, if somebody came and said, your son just killed this girl, I would want to believe that either. But if you got all the evidence and staring at you, I'm like, I'm sorry, son. Ain't nothing I could do for you, bro. Why'd you go do it as a dad. I'll probably be more encouraged for him to tell the truth because it's not just about how I feel as his parent of what he's done or what he's done is owed too, that victim's family to [00:21:00] know whatever it is they want to know.
And I've always felt like if you big and bad enough to take somebody's life, then you should be big and bad enough to face all the consequences, which includes having to answer to that person's family. They have to live with this, the rest of their lives in the little bit of closure you can give that you should give it always wonder what, her family felt right there.
Sitting there as hearing the mom pretty much being mad that my son is innocent and he's not. People of all colored, yeah. We hate the fact that our kids do things, but if your kids and does something and you got the evidence to prove it, unfortunately we have the and what it is to support them the way that you can.
But Nathaniel was a hundred percent guilty. What do you think about all the crimes that he did before? So before we even run into Samantha, he's already done a car jacked some lady took her to the ATM steal money from dad, take her to her home. Now this is a bold embracing, took her to her [00:22:00] home, stole a PS4. Okay.
These are the most dumbest criminals I've ever seen. The one thing you never do is you don't ever go on somebody else's turf. You don't know what they got. Somebody should have been there to shotgun just blased him back to the door. what's your thought about that? So the criminal activity they did beforehand.
My question for this is, does his mother believe he didn't commit those crimes as well?
The way I took it, his mom don't believe he's done anything that he's ever been convicted of. She feels like that he is, another black man that the society and the criminal justice has done him wrong. I agree. We have a lot of them, but Nathaniel was not one of them.
I'm speechless I don't know because has a criminal record that they can trace. This is not just like a case of he had a bad day and decided to, murder Samantha as like a crime of opportunity. [00:23:00] I feel like this was a planned out thing. Let me see who I can trick to get into my car by looking like a car ride service, then do what I'm going to do.
And he has history of kidnapping that doesn't. Appear to end in murder, it did result in a physical assault, allegedly because it is alleged, but even so that resulted in a car, jacking, a physical assault, a kidnap, and then going back to the person's house to steal their P their PlayStation, allegedly. So that's a problem for me because that shows a pattern, but also a very quick escalation in crime. Cause the carjacking in the assault apparently happened with him and another person. [00:24:00] This crime of murder happened with just him. So not only did he escalate, but he also became a solo perpetrator. So I hate to tell. Mrs. Roland here, but he's guilty. It's such a senseless crime too. And I think that's one of the things that bothers me the most is this crime is such a senseless crime that easily could have been avoided, but she was just trying to go home. I don't even feel like I can say, she was purposely careless, to me, that's victim blaming. I feel like it was more of a, this looks like the car I'm ready to go home. I want to leave. And so she got in the car.
And I'm sure he was perfectly nice to her when she greeted him before getting in the car.
So I'm sure there were no red flags until she was in the car and child locked inside.
and just looking at her and all the overview I've done about [00:25:00] Samantha she reminds me of what she reminds me a lot of Madison. And this is what scares me about Madison, that in her heart and mind, she just wants to believe that inherently people are good. So my thought pattern is, cause this is how Madison would be.
If she got into the wrong Uber or the wrong car, does that Uber, the person would say, excuse me, who are you? Why are you in my car? All I'm not your Uber driver. I'm sorry. That didn't happen. The sad thing is the actual Uber car pulled up about two seconds after Nathaniel did according to the video. So that's why I say I don't want to be too hard on her because I have a daughter that I worry about every day and she's the same way she does inherently feels that nobody's going to go out of their way to harm you.
And if you make a mistake, they go to correct you of that mistake. And in this case, that didn't happen, which is why we need to be a little bit more on the careful side, especially [00:26:00] in these days and times
if I'm going to be honest, when I first started taking Uber, I was relatively careless about it. Now this was before they had all the features they have. Now, when Uber first came to the area in Florida that I lived in, they only gave you the name of the driver, the rating, and the picture.
There was no way to track your location. Unless you sent your location from your phone, like an app in your phone, there wasn't one built into the Uber app. There wasn't any kind of indication of what their license plate was. So you had to literally go off of making sure the picture matched.
And hoping that the car matched, that's what you had to go off of when I first started taking Uber. , but we also weren't told it to have them verify your name. So I would be like, oh, hi, are you Adam to [00:27:00] the Uber driver? And they'd be like, yes. And I'd look and just get in the car and be like, okay, to my destination.
I go, which is not safe at all. And now with all the features that Uber has, it is harder. I feel or less likely that something like this will happen, but.
it's obviously still happening and in 2019. So while they've added a lot of features, she tried to stop these things or mitigate these things from happening.
They're still happening. And that, for me, that is that's sad And.
rough, But I think a lot of people that take Uber want to believe that people that are driving Uber's are inherently good people. We don't want to have to think about, oh, [00:28:00] we could be getting into an Uber with a killer that would make you never want to take an Uber.
So let's talk a little bit about his sentencing. See, do we agree with that? his mom had a fit because he was denied bond. Like I said, when he actually got convicted, they did put them away for kidnapping and for possessing a weapon, doing a violent crime. And it only took the jury a little over an hour.
And then the judge gave him life in prison for one, I think if you've got to dissolve podcast over the last three years, I've said this before I've sat on many, a jury, it wouldn't have took me no hour. They could have took me back into the room, said, let's deliberate. We didn't put the jury foreman. If it was me, I'm like guilty while we've been wasting time.
All that is a guilty. What do you think? You think he got a fair sentence?
Short of a death sentence. I don't know how much more. Fair. It could be
[00:29:00] I'm going to tell you guys this, and you guys know that Geneva and I, we are not big fans of the criminal justice systems. We're not big fans of the police. We've told you guys, there's so many different cases that we've done, but I'm going to tell you this flat out, the judge got this one, 100% correct. As you guys know, I do not agree with the death penalty.
I don't think anybody could whip you as bad as God can. And everyday you sit in that cell you got live with what you did with yourself. He'll never see the light of day again. And no matter what his mama says, all the evidence points to him. The judge got this one, right? You want to see no protest from me.
And if you ever watched the video. I'll put one down of the judge talking in the show notes, he is very disturbed, and he didn't really know what to say. and it looked like that he was offended that anybody would even ask for leniency to see for this dude after what he had pulled.
So I think judge Newman got it. Right. What'd you gotta say about judge Newman, Geneva.
Listen, [00:30:00] judge Newman said exactly what he needed to say. My favorite line from judge Newman is for whoever asked me for leniency. That's not part of my DNA. Okay, judge Newman. I see you because I honestly was surprised by the show that, Roland's mother put on. like you said, black mothers especially tend to, fight to the death for their children, which is fine. But with all of that evidence, ma'am I'm sorry. I just don't see how you could, and I guess the asking for leniency thing I could get behind if a, she wasn't so dramatic about it and B she didn't completely try to deny that he had done anything. What tipped me over the edge was the, [00:31:00] she wanted to try to equate this to, he's black. So you guys are trying to frame. that's where it lost me, because I was like, I get wanting leniency for your child. Is your child fine, but why did you have to throw a race card in there? What did you think that would accomplish?
lot of it is too. We, as black Americans got to stop doing that, right? A lot of us look at what's going on politically or has gone on and they're attached to it. They're looking at the date is 2021. We just got done with the whole George Floyd thing in 2020. There's a lot of people out here that was screaming, racial injustice.
When they know they went and committed a crime as a race that makes us weak because it now it looks like, it says one dude just got killed on just leave in the last six months or whatever. Since this case happened, we just go and play the race card. Everything is not racial some things it's just factual and they're laid out in front of your face of [00:32:00] what it is.
I'm black proud to be black. We'll always support black, but I'm always going to support the right side and not the wrong side. His mama know that Nathaniel been doing dirt for years, but because especially a lot of African-Americans, we feel like our kids represent us. That's true in any race. I tell my kids that right now, I'm like, whatever you go out there and do reflects on us.
And people think that you was raised that way. So when you go out, make sure you act like you got some sense that you was raised with, but no matter what kind of parents you are, sometimes your children just go by the wayside that has nothing to do with you. If you did everything that you're supposed to do correctly, that's just the path that your child chose.
And unfortunately, we have to accept that Alright . Let's talk a little bit about the legacies that she left behind before we get up outta here. So after their daughters death samantha's parents established the what's. My name foundation. The foundation works to [00:33:00] educate people about rideshare safety, along with supporting charitable foundations and awarding college scholarships.
Samantha's parents have worked with lawmakers to advocate for policies that enhance safety for rideshare passengers. Several laws have been enacted since Samantha's death. I do want to say this, see what your thought is on this too. I do get my hats off to Samantha's parents because out of everything I've seen with these people, they never, one time said that my daughter had no right to do this, or my daughter shouldn't have to look at her app.
They have been preaching for people to look at apps and verify they were the first ones to come out and say, maybe if our daughter would have done this, she would still be here today. How do you feel about her parents stands on how they find with that?
Honestly, I commend them. I do, because we see a lot of times when. Things [00:34:00] similar to this, whether that is people , in a kind of a secluded area with headphones and they get kidnapped off the trail, things like that. We see the parents saying, if this person hadn't been there, this wouldn't have happened, which is true. But I do think that it's also important to make sure that we're giving a message of what can be done so that this doesn't happen to another person or so we can avoid it happening to another person.
So I personally commend Samantha's parents for coming out and saying, make sure to check your apps, verify whose car you're getting into you. Don't just glance at the app and then get into the car. I commend that because that is a proactive step and a more of, advice or safety tips of how to be [00:35:00] safer while using car ride services or really anything. if you're out jogging, maybe only wear one headphone or make sure that your, whatever setting on your headphones, if there is one, make sure not to use like noise canceling headphones, make sure you have one where you can hear the things surrounding you. I just feel like that message needs to be out more than this person did this.
If they weren't in that place at that time, it wouldn't have happened. And I understand that's also true, I think most people are trying to make the world safer by speaking out and saying, this is how this happens. This is where something went wrong. Make sure to do this. If you are in a situation where this thing could happen to you as well.
I agree. Our agree also on June 5th, 2019, the Samantha L Josephson ride sharing safety act was [00:36:00] signed into law in South Carolina. Yeah, it requires riser vehicles to display license plate numbers on the front. The law also subjects, people who misrepresent themselves as authorized transportation network company drivers to a maximum $500 fine.
And those who use TNC ride sharing application in the furthest of criminal activity to a maximum of $1,000. Fine. In addition to facing fines, one guilty of misrepresenting themselves as an authorized TNC driver may be incarcerated for up to 30 days while one who uses ride sharing in the furtherance of criminal activity may face up to two years of incarcerated.
Also in June, 2019, New Jersey, governor Phil Murphy signed Sammy's law, which requires more identification or rise your vehicles specifically, the law requires companies to issue two credential placards to drivers of Reiser vehicles. These placards, which are to be placed on the driver and [00:37:00] passenger side back windows must have the driver's name and photo along with their license plate number rideshare vehicles must also have an identifying marker on the front windshield and back window.
Additionally, companies must give rideshare drivers two bar codes that passengers can scan to confirm the drivers identity. Samantha's murder prompted lawmakers in North Carolina to propose the passenger protection act. The act requires rideshare drivers to display printed license plate number on the front of their vehicles.
And as of July 1st, 2020. To have illuminated signs on their vehicles. The act creates a new criminal penalty for impersonating a ride share driver and mates assaulting a ride share driver or misdemeanor. Additionally, it provides $500,000 in grants for colleges to educate students about ricer safety and creates a study commission to examine ways to improve ride share safety.
The law was signed by governor Roy Cooper in [00:38:00] August of 2019. Additional legislation aimed at protecting rideshare users is pending in April of 2019. Senator Anna Kaplan introduced the Samantha L Josephson ride sharing safety act to the New York Senate. The act, which is currently in the transportation committee requires rideshare drivers to display visible, consistent, and distinctive signage.
Clearly identifying the ride, share service provider at all times. When the driver is active on the service platform or providing ride share service, the signs must be readable from a distance of 50 feet during daylight hours and should be illuminated at night so that the logo is patently visible. And her parents also know working with the United States Congress, they craft a federal law to enhance rideshare safety in the bill, which is also titled Sammy's law was introduced on June 13th, 2019.
It does require ride share vehicles to have front plates, license plates and illuminated. So they got all that good stuff [00:39:00] passed. All of that good came out of somebody having to die. Unfortunately, . A lot of those things they pass. Our thoughts have always been there.
Always said maybe they should have an illuminated sign that had a special code that only the driver and the person knew down here. A lot of the drivers who have been driving for a long time, they were giving distinct luminated signs from Uber. one of my friends I work with, he has over 400 rides he was the first one that got it.
to give more distinction, the light Geneva said, you can go buy these things off of Ebay, having a personalized where your photo and your license plate is on it. You can't sell that.
You can, also, especially on places like Etsy, people are doing a lot of things with like your like social media, right? So like they're doing like a lot of picture frames that hold your Snapchat, QR code. You can get something similar like that from Uber, but I'm pretty sure it comes directly from Uber.[00:40:00]
There are people that drive for Uber. In Florida there were a lot of people that were starting to change over to the illuminated sign that also had the, like a code And.
their picture on it, which that is much more difficult to get from somewhere else that would look authentic.
In Florida, the color of the Uber sign that you actually got from being part of Uber looked different. Like it, maybe it was blue instead of red or something like that. And on the ones I seen on Amazon and sites similar to that have not been the right.
color or they're like a dullar color.
if you know what you're looking at, they're not authentic. Uber or Lyft signs. But if you're just looking for someone that has that in their window, I don't know how much attention you would necessarily pay to it.
So with that being [00:41:00] said, Geneva, what is your final thoughts on the Samantha Josephson murder?
as always my thoughts and prayers go out to her family that is in her friends as well. That's tragic. I definitely feel like this was something that could have been avoided regardless of how it could have been avoided. I feel like this is a senseless crime. there, there was no reason for this to happen. as far as. Nathaniel Roland, in my opinion, he got exactly what he deserved. I'm not one for the death penalty. I'm pretty sure we've talked about that on here before. I fail to see what good the death penalty does because if you're sitting in a prison and rotting there, eventually you're going to die.
Anyway. I don't see what ending the perpetrators suffering [00:42:00] sooner does. There are some cases where they like asked to be, executed. That's a little different in my opinion, but nonetheless, he is where he deserves to be. He's not getting out. I feel badly for his mom, but also. I'm not sure how she can completely deny it.
So those are my final thoughts. How about you Dad?
my final thoughs is a sad case. Indeed. Like Geneva, my heart goes out to the family for Samantha Josephson. May she rest in peace? Yes, Nathaniel exactly what he needs to be to piggyback off of what Geneva was saying. It is true, especially in African-American circles. They feel like that if the child goes up to be some type of a criminal is because he wasn't raised right.
Or she wasn't raised right. Or we was raised in a poor environment or whatever that case is. So I do know how that is. However, sometimes when the evidence is staring you dead in your face, you have [00:43:00] no other option, but to accept it for what it is. And that is what the case is here with Nathaniel, I will point these couple of things out, being that we're talking about safety issues for one with Uber, please always make sure even when they're delivering my food now, who would drive with shout my name out.
That's what they're supposed to do anyways. So that you know, that's who you posed to be with. That person has no other reason to know your name, unless that is your driver. always make sure you check that app, make sure that everything matches up before you get into the car. As sad as it is.
As many people out here that has arterial motives lighten,Nathanieldid and want to get you into a car and Rob you for whatever they want to do. Also hold your tech companies responsible. This is a lot of reasons why apple has the followers that they do. They are very into health and awareness, which is why the AirPod pros was made.
The way that they are was what I carry. They have a mode in there where [00:44:00] everything comes into your ears. Okay? So you can have total noise cancellation or you can have what they call transparency mode. If you by yourself, no matter what headphones you use, no matter what company is made by a hold that company responsible.
If your favorite pair of headphones, don't have these things, ask the company while they're not making them for your seat. And if you have those, please always make sure you have that transparency mode turned on. So you can hear when you're all by yourself, especially the young ladies of the world,
but remember you pay these companies no matter who they are, LG, apple, Samsung, Sony, whoever they are, you pay them a lot of money every year. And you should have devices that you feel totally safe with. So guys, please make sure you're being careful out there that this be a cautionary tale. And hopefully we never have to do another story like this one ever again.
All right, God. So that does it for this one. We thank [00:45:00] you for tuning in. We hope that you did learn something from this episode. Geneva, do you have any shout outs?
Yes, I do have a shout out this week. She does post little snippets of the podcast to her Instagram feed as well. If you want to look at that before deciding, lovers and friends with Shan, BU DRAM. It's an 18 plus please. No children go listen to it. Do you have any showers this week, dad?
I do. And my shout out has absolutely nothing to do with podcasts, audio books, any of that kind of stuff. it does do it, what we have to do a lot of though, which is reading. And I feel like that this person needs to be brought to the forefront. So today my shout out goes to a young lady named Kristen who runs a kats Creations 614 on Etsy.
[00:46:00] What she does. And she builds digital planners and journals of all kinds. And let me say that she does the best job I've ever seen. So for me, again, and have to give credit to my daughter, she got a reading journal from her a long time ago, said, dad, you should get a reading journal. Of course I say why and then she sold me hers.
I said, okay, let me order one. So the first one that the young lady did for me was very good. And then all of a sudden I found out about a month or two ago that she had new planters. So I had her build me another one. Now what'd you guys understand that I'm the only guy that she's ever built. One of these four.
So all of her themes and stickers and everything else that goes with the journal was centered around female. She also has her own reading club called Kats book nerds. And I, at this point, I'm the only male in that group too, as well. So I went back to her and I said, I want a black Panther themed journal.
And once again, [00:47:00] she didn't disappoint. It was fabulous. She even got the Wakanda text writing down to the whole thing. So if you guys are into any kind of journals, reading, live journal, Bible journals, any journal you can think of, she can make dudes out there. I don't know what y'all polymers are.
Reading. Reading is fundamental. Get yourself a reading journal and make you feel better. I keep track of everything I read throughout the year, and I'm in several challenges over there. So Kristin, over at Katz creation 6 1 4. That is my shout out. Be sure to check her out and I'll post some, images of my journal on the website.
I just want to add all of her. yeah, all of her custom journals at least are also can also come as a principal option. So if you are not a person that does digital planning like dad and I do on our iPads or whatever tablet you have, she does have a printable option that is a digital download, and then you can print it at home so you can print [00:48:00] it out as many times as you want as well.
I just wanted to add that because some people don't know.
And she is carrying five stars. I haven't found one bad review on her yet. You also find my review for her on that page. So make sure you go to kats creations over on Etsy. I will post the link in the show. Note, pay her a visit, tell him that we sent you.
All right, guys. as always, we thank you for joining us. I know you have many options in true crime podcasts, but for the last three and a half years, we are glad that you have made us one of your options. There's always a hope you guys are being safe out there. Take care of yourself and each other.
And as always Don't commit any crimes out there.
So you don't end up on our podcast.[00:49:00]
Black History Month
Celebrating and remember those who paved the way in the struggle for justice!
