HEARTBROKEN pals of the student murdered by her depraved stepdad have paid a touching tribute to “the girl in the strawberry pyjamas”.
on what would have been her 20th birthday at the University of campus in Preston.
Her stepdad Nathan Owens, 34, had driven 100 miles from the family home to strangle Carla to death after becoming “consumed by jealousy”.
Preston Crown heard how and made a life-size effigy of her to fulfil his sexual fantasy.
He had also manipulated innocent selfies of Carla into sexual images and had filmed himself having sex with her anime dolls and a stuffed cat she had bought him.
Owens has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 35 years after he was convicted of murder.
Following his sentencing, Carla’s flatmates Jen Kirkham and Imogen Flowers have paid a heartfelt tribute.
Jen said she will always remember Carla as “the girl in the strawberry pyjamas with the smile.”
She added: “You would see her walking round campus, she always knew what she was doing.
“She wanted to help people who went through similar situations as she did – she felt she wasn’t heard a lot as a child and wanted to help people in difficult situations particularly young children to make sure they didn’t go through what she did.”
Jen said she had been in class when she was told cops were in her flat on February 5.
When she returned to the halls of residence she was stopped by security to took her to the student centre and told her Carla had died.
Jen said: “It hurts to know that she was a year older than me, but I’m 19 now and she will be forever 20. It’s unfair to think that she went through all that.
“An hour and a half it lasted, while I was sleeping and I’ve heard people and I’ve seen people online asking how could the roommates not hear anything and I apologise that I don’t wear my hearing aids to sleep.”
Jen also described Owens, calling him “narcissistic”.
She said: “Every time I saw him he was smiling or looking bored.
“He laughed when they gave the guilty verdict. He actually laughed to himself like it was some inside joke. The rage I felt.
“He was supposed to look after her. He stood up to take the role of a father and he didn’t because for some reason his sick twisted desires were more important.
“I will never understand the cruelty and the twisted nature of someone who could do something like that.”
Imogen said she had been inspired by Carla, who had written and illustrated a book about Romanian life in the 1990s.
She added that Carla was always smartly dressed, wearing kitten heels.
DI Pete Macdonald, of Lancashire ‘s Force Major Team said: “Carla had her whole life ahead of her, which was ripped away by someone she should have been able to trust.
“Owens has taken Carla’s life, but he has also changed her mum’s completely. He has torn apart the family he was trusted to love.
“As Carla’s stepfather, he had the unique responsibility of being welcomed into a family.
“He should have respected and loved Carla as his own child. He completely abused that trust, harbouring a perverted infatuation with her, before ultimately killing her.
“Owens offending ended with the worst possible outcome – the loss of Carla’s life, but the way it began is equally as disturbing.
“He took innocent childhood photos and made them indecent images. Because of this, Carla’s mum has not only lost her daughter but has had some of her memories of Carla’s childhood, before she met Owens, destroyed too.
“Carla was a young woman, a dedicated student who had the rest of her life to look forward to.
“She was happy and healthy and living a life reflective of many other 19-year-old women.
“What she didn’t know is that Owens had a disgusting sexual obsession with her, which led him to believe that if he couldn’t have her, no one could.
“He knew Carla was moving forward with her life, and he knew as part of that she was travelling to meet her new boyfriend, so he travelled to her halls, a place she should have felt safe, and brutally assaulted her before killing her.
“He is truly despicable.
“Nothing will bring Carla back to her mum and all those who loved her, but I hope they can take some comfort in knowing that Owens has been convicted and given a life sentence.
“He will rightly remain in prison for a long time.”
