Jesse Matthew Plea Agreement Expected This Week

Jesse Matthew Jr. is expected to enter a plea agreement this week related to the abduction and deaths of college students Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington, according to prosecutors.

Matthew, 33, was first linked to the cases after video footage showed him with Graham in Charlottesville on the night she disappeared in September 2014. DNA evidence then linked Matthew to the 2009 disappearance of Harrington, as well as a 2005 attack on a woman in Fairfax City.

He was sentenced in October in the Fairfax case, receiving three life sentences. He had entered an Alford plea to the charges, claiming his innocence but acknowledging that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

More:

• Jesse Matthew Sentenced to Life in Prison
• Jesse Matthew to Be Charged with First Degree Murder
• Grand Jury Returns Indictments Against Jesse Matthew

The trial in the cases of Hannah Graham, a University of Virginia student from Fairfax County, and Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student, was expected this summer. Matthew could have faced the death penalty.

A court hearing is planned for Wednesday afternoon in Albemarle County Circuit Court, with Matthew’s plea expected to resolve both cases, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Tracci.