Authorities say multiple injuries from a sharp object killed a University of South Carolina student who police say was kidnapped after she got into the wrong car while waiting for an Uber.
The brief statement Monday from Clarendon County Coroner Bucky Mock did not specify what kind of weapon was used to kill 21-year-old Samantha Josephson.
Authorities have charged 24-year-old Nathaniel David Rowland with kidnapping and murder.
Arrest warrants say after Josephson got into his car early Friday, Rowland attacked her, causing numerous wounds to her head, neck, face, upper body, leg, and foot.
Police say Josephson's body was found Friday afternoon in Clarendon County, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) from Columbia by turkey hunters.
Her cause of death was revealed after her father promised to dedicate his life to improving the safety of ride sharing services.
Samantha Josephson, 21, was found dead on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina after she mistakenly got into a car thinking it was her Uber ride
The first dark car Samantha went up to was not her ride, her father said. So she jumped into a second similar looking car, Seymour Josephson said.
'Samantha was by herself. She had absolutely no chance. None. The door was locked, the child safety locks were on,' her father said Sunday night at a candlelight vigil in Columbia.
Seymour told his daughter's friends they can help by always taking rides or walking around town in groups of two or more because there is safety in numbers.
'If there is somebody else in that car, there is actually a chance,' he said. He now plans to speak to ride sharing services about better identifying their vehicles.
Nathaniel David Rowland, 24, was arrested for allegedly killing 21-year-old Samantha Josephson after she got into his car in Columbia at about 1.30am on Friday thinking it was her Uber ride
Rowland, 24, is charged with kidnapping and murder in Josephson's death.
Josephson's blood and cellphone were found in his car the next night when he was arrested two blocks from Five Points, authorities said.
Rowland remains in the Richland County jail. It wasn't known if he had a lawyer.
Josephson's boyfriend, Greg Corbishley said he saw a clear future with her and remembered their last conversation Thursday when she thanked him for letting her just be herself.
'Even in the short time she was here, how many people she positively impacted with her energy,' Corbishley said.
Josephson's parents said they had planned to come to Columbia on Saturday to see their daughter in the city and the university she loved one last time before she graduated in May and moved on to law school at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
They still came, but while her father went to the candlelight vigil, her mother was at the Richland County jail for a hearing scheduled for the man charged with killing her daughter.
Josephson is seen in family photos with her parents. Her mom read a statement to the court Sunday
Surveillance video shows the fateful moment the 21-year-old mistook a car for the Uber she ordered outside a bar in Columbia, South Carolina, early Friday morning
Rowland decided not to appear, but a judge gave Marci Josephson a chance to talk.
She read out a statement which said: 'There are no words to describe the immense pain, his actions have caused our family and friends. He's taken away a piece of our heart, soul and life. Shame on him. We thought he would be here to see his evil face.
'I can not fathom how someone could randomly
