NELSON COUNTY -- The attorney of Randy Taylor, who was convicted of the murder of Alexis Murphy, recently asked law enforcement to compare samples of Jesse Matthew’s DNA, to all the unknown DNA samples in the Murphy case.
Murphy disappeared August 3, 2013, when she left her Nelson County home for Lynchburg, to do some shopping. Murphy was traveling in a white 2003 Nissan Maxima GLE SE with Virginia license plates WYN-3706.
More than 72 hours later after the FBI and law enforcement agencies began their search to find Murphy, the white Nissan Maxima, with the correct license plates, was found in the parking lot of the old Carmike Theatre in Charlottesville.
Though Murphy has never been found, DNA evidence was recovered in the case, which ultimately led to Taylor’s murder conviction in 2014. Taylor asked for a reduced sentence of 20 years, if he helped investigators locate Murphy.
Inside Taylor’s camper officers found Murphy’s DNA on a diamond stud earring or nose ring, a nail fragment with her DNA, a long black hair on his pillow with bulb still attached, a "bloody t-shirt under his couch."
It was enough physical evidence to put Taylor behind bars for two life but not enough to put speculation to rest that the prime suspect in the disappearance of UVa. student Hannah Graham could have helped Taylor.
“We want to be thorough, so if that means absolving him then that's fine or if that means he had something to do with it, if we find that out, we'll hold him just as responsible as Randy Taylor,” said Nelson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony Martin.
Taylor approached Murphy at a Liberty gas station before she disappeared.
Questions still remain if the back of Matthew’s distinct burnt orange Chrysler Coupe was captured in surveillance video that August afternoon.
Federal and state officials closely examined the frame. [READ: The 5 things people get wrong about Alexis Murphy and Jesse Matthew]
"They strongly felt that it wasn't a car but a sign, even if it was a car we don't know that that was his car by any means,” said Martin.
Federal scientific testing is expected in a matter of weeks, along with a report on whether Alexis Murphy was corresponding with Matthew on social media. As Martin explained, testing at a federal level involves more individuals, analysis, and processing, so results can take longer to return.
The commonwealth is examining social media posts like these, where Murphy asks about an "LJ" and responds to a post about "6 feet dreadheads."
“Social media is not going to be a scientific analysis like DNA, there's really no hard science to it,” said Martin.
And it is hard science that Murphy's family says put the right man in prison for killing their loved one.
"If it comes back he was involved, I’ve said it before it doesn't make Randy Taylor any less guilty, it just means somebody else gets prosecuted for what happened to my niece,
said Trina Murphy.
"If we have evidence that somebody else had something to do with this then we will do our best to hold that person accountable but as of now Randy Taylor is the only person that we see had anything to do with this,” said Martin.
Murphy's family said that they expect the search for Alexis to resume at a Greene county property, by Dec. 1. Plan had already been in place to resume searching in the fall, because heavy brush needed to die down.
WATCH Tuesday at 11: For the first time since the search for Hannah Graham ended, Chief Longo is answering questions about the Graham investigation and responds to critics turned off by his sometimes over-to-top style of policing.
