Jesse Matthew Jr., currently facing two murder trials, was sentenced for the rape and attempted murder of a Fairfax woman over a decade ago.

Matthew entered an Alford plea on June 10 for the September 2005 abduction, sexual assault and attempted murder of the victim identified as “RG” in Fairfax.

With that plea he did not admit to a criminal act, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to win a conviction. However, the plea came as a surprise to many. It was a way to maintain innocence, but for all intent and purpose, there is no distinction when it comes to sentencing and his appellate rights are waived as well.

On Friday, as the parents of the alleged victims in Matthew’s two murder cases sat in the front row, Fairfax Circuit Judge David Schell sentenced Matthew to the maximum sentence of three life sentences.

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh asked for a maximum of three life sentences, and a minimum of 45 years.

Read More

Jesse Matthew, who was charged with killing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, on Wednesday ceded that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him of abduction, sexual assault and attempted murder in a different, decade-old crime, a Virginia prosecutor said.

In a Fairfax, Virginia, courtroom, Matthew entered an Alford plea in connection with the 2005 case, which means he does not admit to a criminal act but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to win the case.

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond Morrogh said he considers Matthew’s action equal to a guilty plea. Morrogh said the prosecution couldn’t have stopped Matthew from entering an Alford plea and no deal was made with the defense to secure a lesser punishment.

“The defendant pled guilty to all of the charges, which means he faces the full range of punishment,” he said.

In November, Matthew pleaded not guilty to the three charges tied to the September 24, 2005, incident in Fairfax, a city 20 miles west of Washington. The indictment claimed that he”did feloniously, willfully, deliberately, intentionally and with premeditation attempt to kill (the victim) in the commission of or subsequent to an abduction with the intent to defile.”

Authorities say a 26-year-old woman there was returning from a grocery store when someone grabbed her from behind and sexually assaulted her.

“We saw her purse on the front sidewalk,” said neighbor Stacey Simkins. “He had already dragged her behind our units to the dark pool area.”

Read More

Hannah Graham, 18, disappeared after a night out with friends.

Her last communication was a text message to a friend saying she was “lost” at around 1am.

The remains of her body were found nearby at a remote farm near Charlottesville, Virginia, last October.

The indictment accuses Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., 33, of capital murder in the death of Hannah and is based on new forensic evidence.

The state prosecutor said she will be seeking the death penalty during the court case which starts next month.

Matthew, a former hospital worker and taxi driver, was shackled and handcuffed at a brief hearing this week.

Attorney Denise Lunsford said that new forensic evidence was a crucial factor in her pursuing a death penalty case.

The exact cause of Hannah’s death in unknown. She moved to the US with her British parents Sue and John at the age of five.

She was last seen in September after a night out with friends on CCTV being followed by Matthew.

It led police to name him as a “person of interest” in the days after her disappearance.

Read More

Jesse Matthew Jr., a former hospital worker, was indicted Monday on a count of first-degree murder in the abduction and killing of Hannah Graham, a University of Virginia student, who was missing for weeks before her body was discovered, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

Albemarle County prosecutor Denise Lunsford said that the state will not seek the death penalty, and that Graham’s family has been informed about the state’s decision.

Lunsford declined to say why Matthew was not charged with the higher count of capital murder. The abduction and first-degree murder charges are punishable by up to life in prison. Matthew, 33, was already charged with abduction with intent to defile the 18-year-old.

Police have said forensic evidence also links Matthew to the 2009 disappearance and death of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, whose body also was found in the county. Lunsford said “there are no pending charges” against Matthew in the Harrington case.

“The simple fact is the case involving Hannah Graham was ready to be charged first,” she said.

Graham vanished after a night out with friends Sept. 12. According to police, she left an off-campus party alone and texted a friend saying she was lost.

In surveillance video, she can be seen walking unsteadily and even running at times, past a pub and a service station and then onto a seven-block strip of bars, restaurants and shops. Another video captured her leaving a restaurant with Matthew, who had an arm around her.

Graham’s disappearance prompted a month-long search involving thousands of volunteers as well as police. It ended when searchers found her remains Oct. 18 in rural Albemarle County, roughly six miles from the hayfield where Harrington’s body was found in January 2010.

Harrington disappeared while attending a Metallica concert at U.Va in October 2009. Her T-shirt was later found on a nearby tree limb.

New details have emerged about DNA found from the man accused of abducting University of Virginia student Hannah Graham.

A forensic analysis shows DNA recovered from underneath the fingernails of a 2005 sexual assault victim in Fairfax is that of Jesse Matthew.

Authorities had already announced a forensic link between Matthew and the Fairfax case, but these are the first details released.

Matthew has been indicted on attempted capital murder, abduction, and sexual penetration with an object in connection with the rape on which happened on September 24, 2005.
The indictment claims Matthew “did feloniously, willfully, deliberately, intentionally and with premeditation attempt to kill R.G. in the commission of or subsequent to an abduction with the intent to defile.”

In the 2005 Fairfax rape, a man grabbed a 26-year-old woman from behind, forced her into a wooded area and sexually assaulted her. The alleged assailant fled after being startled.

Virginia State Police announced weeks ago that Jesse L. Matthew, Jr., a suspect arrested in connection to Graham’s disappearance, had some physical connection to the death of Morgan Harrington.
Investigators in Harrington’s case in 2009 determined that DNA in the case connected the perpetrator to a 2005 abduction and rape of a woman in Fairfax.

Matthew has not been charged in connection to the 2009 Harrington abduction and murder, even though the suspect in that case was previously linked to the 2005 case, and the Virginia State Police have already said that there is a forensic link between Harrington’s murder and Matthew.

Matthew, 32, is being held without bail in Charlottesville for the alleged abduction of Graham with intent to defile.

The remains of missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham have been confirmed by the medical examiner’s office.

The Albemarle County Police Department tweeted late Friday that remains discovered Saturday are those of the Fairfax, Va., native.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Graham family & Hannah’s friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the police department tweeted in a separate post. “Please respect their privacy.”

Authorities added that since their “focus is on the investigation,” they will not be answering questions on the case of the girl who has been missing since mid-September.

“We remain committed to this investigation and will work to ensure that justice is served,” they tweeted.

Earlier Friday, Graham’s parents accompanied investigators to the scene of the crime and spent about 30 minutes there.

Read More

As investigators are determining whether a skull and bones discovered behind an abandoned Central Virginia home on Saturday are those of Hannah Graham, the lone suspect in her disappearance has been indicted in an assault from almost a decade ago — a case that police say forensically links him to another female college student who vanished from the same area as Graham.

Jesse Matthew was indicted by a grand jury in Fairfax, Virginia on Monday for the 2005 sexual assault on charges that also included attempted murder and abduction.

According to the indictment, Matthew, 32, “did feloniously, willfully, deliberately, intentionally and with premeditation attempt to kill (the victim) in the commission of or subsequent to an abduction with the intent to defile.”

The then-26-year-old victim in that attack was able to provide enough of a detailed description to yield a police sketch, one that years later would link Matthew to the case of Morgan Harrington, the Virginia Tech student who vanished in Charlottesville in October 2009.

Harrington was found dead the following January. Police at the time said “forensic evidence” linked the two cases.

Fairfax County prosecutor Ray Morrogh said Monday that he could not comment on how this investigation and indictment relates to the Harrington or Graham cases, but said “the facts and details will be revealed in the judicial process.”

Jim Camblos, Matthew’s Charlottesville attorney in the Graham case, declined to comment when reached by CNN on Monday.

Virginia police said human remains have been found during the search for Hannah Graham, the University of Virginia student who has been missing for more than a month.

Volunteer searchers discovered the unidentified body at about noon Saturday in an “abandoned property” along Old Lynchburg Road in the Walnut Creek Park area of Albemarle County, authorities said at a Saturday evening press conference.

Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo said the remains would be taken to the office of Virginia’s Chief Medical Examiner for forensic testing and identification.

Longo said Graham’s parents had been notified of the discovery. He said volunteers working with Chesterfield County sheriff’s deputies were searching the property on Old Lynchburg Road when they discovered the remains.

Albemarle County Police Chief Steve Sellers said, “This, sadly, is now a death investigation. We will not jump to any conclusions after today’s discovery.”

In September, police charged 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. with abduction with intent to defile in Graham’s disappearance. His attorney, Jim Camblos, issued a statement late Saturday night.

“I understand the search teams found remains on an abandoned farm in Albemarle County. We are waiting to see the results of the medical examiners autopsy. No further comment.”

Albemarle County Police now are asking anyone who saw suspicious activity or suspicious vehicles near Old Lynchburg Road to contact them at 434-296-5807. Neighbors in the area said they had been smelling a foul odor a few days ago.

A forensic link has been established between the man suspected of abducting University of Virginia student Hannah Graham and the disappearance of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington five years ago, the Virginia State Police confirmed Monday.

“Last week, the arrest of Jesse L. Matthew Jr., 32, of Charlottesville, Va., provided a significant break in this case with a new forensic link for state police investigators to pursue,” VSP spokeswoman Corinne Geller said an an e-mail to ABC7 News.

Geller did not indicate exactly what that evidence is – or whether it sheds any light on what Matthew may or may not have done with Harrington.

“There is a still a great deal of work to be done in regards to this investigation and we appreciate the public’s patience as we move forward,” Geller said, urging anyone who may have information on the Harrington case to contact VSP at 434-352-3467 or the Jefferson Area Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.

Harrington disappeared in Richmond in October 2009 after attending a concert at the University of Virginia; her body was found three months later.

Graham, meanwhile, has not been seen in two weeks. Matthew was the last person seen with Graham prior to her disappearance, according to police.

“Right now, the public’s focus needs to remain on helping Charlottesville Police locate and bring Hannah Graham home,” Geller said.

Matthew was arrested in Texas last week after police searched his car and apartment. He has been extradited back to Virginia, where he is expected to face a court hearing later this week on a charge of abduction with intent to defile.

Police pleaded with the public Friday to come forward with information about a man who they believe was in a bar with University of Virginia student Hannah Graham about the time she went missing last Saturday, saying they know who he is and have spoken with him but don’t have enough information to arrest him.

At an unusual news conference here, Police Chief Timothy Longo released specific details about the man — describing him as black, 32 years old, 6-foot-2, 270 pounds and having dreadlocks — but would not identify him. Police said surveillance videos show the man noticing Graham, circling around behind her and following her through a downtown pedestrian mall about 1 a.m. He then is seen in surveillance video with his arm around her, and police said the two walked to a bar around the corner.

Police said that the man purchased alcohol there and that it is the last place anyone can say they saw Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore from Fairfax County. Longo said police know that the man drove away from the area in a burnt-orange 1998 Chrysler coupe.

But Longo also said that although police have identified that man, know his name and have searched his car and apartment, they do not have grounds to arrest him. Police would not discuss their interactions with him.

“People saw Hannah, and people saw him and people saw them together,” Longo said at a 5 p.m. news conference Friday. “It is possible Hannah Graham may have gotten into his vehicle, a vehicle we seized. . . . We have every reason to believe she was in that car.”

Police are searching the car and hope that more surveillance video and witnesses can help lead them to Graham. So far, there is no evidence of any crime. Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Warner D. “Dave” Chapman declined to comment.

Graham’s disappearance from an area of Charlottesville that is considered safe, about a mile east of the center of campus, has shaken the student body at Virginia’s flagship public university. Students held vigils, the town is plastered with “Missing” signs showing Graham’s face, and a massive volunteer search is scheduled for Saturday. Her case emphasizes the potential dangers and vulnerabilities of what many students consider a part of college: weekend drinking and walking alone through town.

Graham had spent the last evening before her disappearance at a restaurant near campus, swing dancing and performing in a raucous conga line with friends.

“She was happy as can be,” said junior Jenna Van Dyck, 20, one of the last people to see Graham before she went wandering through town.

“It was a happy, lighthearted time with friends,” said junior Hallie Pence, 21, who also was among the students who were with Graham at Fig Bistro and Bar.

Read More