UPDATE, 4:58pm Tuesday: Hannah Graham’s death has been ruled a homicide.
The Albemarle County Police Department released the cause and manner of death in the Graham case Tuesday afternoon, following earlier reports that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond was withholding the information at the request of the Charlottesville Police Department.
“The cause of death is homicidal violence of undetermined etiology,” the department said in a brief e-mailed statement. “The manner of death is homicide.”
“The Albemarle County Police Department and the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney remain committed to the investigation,” the statement continued. “To protect the integrity of the case, we will not be answering questions or releasing additional information. We are working hard to ensure that justice is served.”
Original story, posted 4:45pm Tuesday:
The state medical examiner’s office has determined how Hannah Graham died, but is withholding the information from the public at the request of police, according to reports.
Frank Battle of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond told the Washington Post there has been a determination of the cause and manner of Graham’s death. The 18-year-old UVA second-year disappeared from the Downtown Mall in September. Her remains were found on an Albemarle County farm just over a month later. Jesse Matthew, a 32-year-old lifelong area resident, has been charged in her abduction and is also facing rape and attempted murder charges in Fairfax. Police say a “forensic link” ties the Graham case to that of Morgan Harrington, who was abducted and killed in 2009.
Following the discovery of Graham’s remains, police said they were treating her case as a “death investigation,” but have not officially said her death was a homicide. Prosecutors have remained tight-lipped about the case, which has been the subject of intense national media coverage since September, but have said that further charges may come.