Suspect in 2005 Sexual Assault Indicted for Murder: Media Reports

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A Charlottesville man, facing trial in a sexual assault case in Fairfax City in 2005, was indicted Tuesday for murder in the disappearance last fall of a University of Virginia student, according to media reports.

Jesse Matthew, 33, is charged with first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile, an Albemarle County prosecutor announced Tuesday, according to a report by radio station WTOP. Hannah Graham, the 18-year-old student, disappeared in September and was found dead in the county a few weeks later.

Matthew will not face the death penalty; the abduction and first-degree murder charges are punishable by up to life in prison.

In addition, police have said forensic evidence links Matthew to the 2009 disappearance and death of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, whose body also was found in Albemarle County.

In the Fairfax City case, Matthew’s trial had been scheduled for March 9. But Fairfax Circuit Court Judge David S. Schell postponed the trial last week after the defense asked for more time to prepare.

Schell is expected to set a new trial date at a hearing on Friday.

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