Jesse Matthew, the man charged in the abduction last fall of UVA student Hannah Graham, has been indicted for Graham’s murder, Albemarle Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford announced at a press conference February 10.
Matthew was indicted February 2 on first-degree murder, abduction and reckless driving charges in connection with Graham’s death, Lunsford said. He has not been charged with capital murder, she took care to note, meaning the death penalty is off the table.
Graham, 18, was last seen early in the morning hours of September 13, 2014, on the Downtown Mall with 32-year-old Matthew, who went briefly on the lam and was arrested September 24 on a Texas beach and charged with abduction with intent to defile. A weeks-long search turned up Graham’s remains on Old Lynchburg Road October 18, and a medical examiner said the cause of death was homicide.
“A great deal of serious thought went into the decision, including the impact on the Grahams, on the community and the ability to have a fair trial,” Lunsford said.
Defense attorney David Heilberg, who is not involved in the case, said there are several factors that go into the decision to pursue capital charges, including the strength of the case and the greater expense of going up against a capital murder defense team. And then there’s the community itself. “The city of Charlottesville—and to some extent Albemarle—are not necessarily death-penalty friendly localities,” said Heilberg. “That’s a consideration.”
Matthew currently is held in Fairfax County, where he’s facing attempted murder and rape charges stemming from a 2005 assault there. DNA from that assault has been linked to Morgan Harrington, the Virginia Tech student who disappeared in 2009 and whose remains were found three months later in a field a few miles from where Graham was found. No charges have been filed in that case, and Lunsford said today no charges are pending.
Read the indictments here.