UPDATE: First-degree murder charge means Jesse Matthew won’t face death penalty in Hannah Graham case
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – An 11 a.m. press conference in Charlottesville on Tuesday will reveal that Jesse Matthew Jr. has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hannah Graham according to CBS 6 sources. The Albemarle County Police Department and the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney will host the press conference with Albemarle County Police Chief Col. Steve Sellers and Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford addressing the media. The Virginia State Police will also be present at the press conference in a non-speaking capacity.
Matthew, 32, is currently charged with the abduction with intent to defile, in Graham's disappearance. She was in her second-year at the University of Virginia.
Graham was last seen leaving a Charlottesville bar with Matthew, on Sept. 13. Her remains were found on an abandoned property in Albemarle County on Oct. 18.
Graham’s body was discovered roughly five miles from where Morgan Harrington’s body was found in Albemarle County in January 2010. In November 2014, police forensically linked Harrington to Matthew when his DNA was found on the black “Pantera” shirt she wore the night of her disappearance.
The 20-year-old Harrington, who was a Virginia Tech student, disappeared outside of the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville while attending a Metallica concert on Oct. 17, 2009.
Matthew is currently incarcerated in Fairfax County, where he is facing attempted capital murder, rape, and sexual assault charges relating to the attack and rape of a Fairfax woman in 2005. DNA has also linked him to this case. He will remain behind bars in Fairfax until his trial on March 9.
