Morgan Harrington Disappeared From Metallica Concert 10/17/09~ Her Skeletal Remains Discovered 1/26/10~DNA Links Jesse Matthew Jr. Who Already Faces Charges In The 1st Degree Murder Of Hannah Elizabeth Graham~

Well this should be interesting. I wonder if it will match the theory I have always had. Time will tell.

I have had Morgan in my thoughts all afternoon. Then I see this posting.

Interesting.

Dan Harrington has posted this on Facebook. Looks like the program Disappeared is featuring Morgan Harrington. Interesting.

Dan HarringtonHelp Find Morgan Dana Harrington.
Viewing of Morgan Harrington's case "Heavy Metal Mystery"
Location: ‎"Disappeared" title of feature "Heavy Metal Mystery" on any television
Time: ‎8:00PM Monday, April 18th

Thanks Jeanne. The program 'Disappeared' is programmed in my DVR to record every show. It's a fabulous show for getting the word out.

I agree< Raine. I DVR it, too!

10/3/2011

Morgan Harrington's parents have launched a new online ad campaign. Morgan Harrington was the 20 year old Virginia Tech student who went missing after a Metallica concert at UVA's John Paul Jones arena in October 2009. Her remains were found in January 2010 on a remote part of a farm in Albermarle County. Her killer has not been caught.

Morgan's family is going online to seek information and raise awareness. Morgan's mother wants to make sure this doesn't happen to another girl. The family has launched a website called helpsavethenextgirl.com. The website provides information about Morgan's case. There are also links to the Virginia State Police, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and National Center for Missing Adults. Helpsavethenextgirl.com is intended to help families who find themselves in similar situations.

The ads promoting the website are featured on news websites across Virginia, especially in Richmond and Charlottesville. Some of the ads pull at your heartstrings, others are eye-opening.

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Followed your link BJ. The first YouTube video tribute has an instrumental piece of music from Metallica that seems fitting to the beautiful young woman who lost her life.
October 17th marks the date of her disappearance.

I think the person of interest in that composite drawing (linked by forensic evidence) could have completely changed his appearance by now and certainly if he was local to that area of VA is long gone.
I hope LE is running that DNA match through their database searching for a match to someone who is already incarcerated or has a criminal record.
I really believe that's the only way he'll be located now.

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Gil Harrington’s Thoughts from October 11, 2011On October - 11 - 20111 COMMENT
October 11, 2011

Morgan you were, and continue to be part of the fabric of our lives. Silly things keep cropping up, like butter. There was always Alex butter (real butter) and Morgan butter (margarine). Now Alex is our only living child and it grieves me a bit to know that this insider Mama knowledge of my family’s preference is now irrelevant. Morgan is dead; get over it Gil! I am seeking closure and instead, at time, feel foreclosure – that all our investments of love and nurturing have been forfeited, wasted.

The anguish we feel from Morgan’s exclusion from our lives is cutting. The foreverness of death looms larger now as shock dissipates. We must change this pain into productivity; that is the way to wholeness and healing. I understand the huge opportunities that develop at times of loss. Like a field, you must be plowed; broken open and raw to receive new seeds that can flourish. We are there. We must surrender and let hope germinate. We must let go of attachments to certainty and allow the full spectrum of possibilities to show up. The harvest of that surrender is our very survival.

There is important work yet to be done as a result of Morgan’s death; both to honor Morgan and to Save The Next Girl: there is a school in Zambia to finish, a culture of complacency to change, and a scholarship to fund in Roanoke, and legislation to support that aids law enforcement and protects young women.

I am at best a reluctant activist. I would rather be on my third cup of tea, reading with a dog in my lap, not working, fighting for justice. But this is what I have been given to do and like every task I put my mind to; I will work hard and do my very best.
Morgan, the world was brightened by your time here and will be blessed by your departure as well. I am convinced that divine order exists. Perhaps we will have an arrest in you case only after we have wrung every possible bit of goodness from this terrible wrong. We are trying baby.

241
Mama

Morgan's mother is amazing!

Morgan Harrington's mother said guards should have let her daughter re-enter a Charlottesville concert two years ago, on the night she later disappeared.

The mother of the late Morgan Harrington of Roanoke County filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit last week in Roanoke County Circuit Court against the company that provided security at a rock concert in Charlottesville on Oct. 17, 2009 -- the night police say the 20-year-old was abducted sometime after being denied re-entry into the show.

Morgan Harrington's skeletal remains were found by a farmer in January 2010 and her death has been ruled a homicide. The case remains under investigation.

Gil Harrington, as administrator of her daughter's estate, seeks $3.5million from Regional Marketing Concepts Inc., doing business as RMC Events.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 11, less than a week from the second anniversary of Morgan Harrington's abduction. She was last seen alive attempting to catch a ride on a bridge near the John Paul Jones Arena, where the concert headliner was Metallica.

The lawsuit alleges that RMC, providing event security that night, should have known that Morgan Harrington had suffered an injury inside the arena and also should have allowed the young woman to return to the concert after she had left the building.

The lawsuit reads, "As a result of the defendant's failure and refusal to allow plaintiff's decedent to re-enter the arena, or report her attempt to do so, plaintiff's decedent was left isolated and alone outside the arena where she was subsequently abducted and murdered."

Dan Schmitt, president of RMC Events, said he could not comment on the lawsuit.

But he said it is "100 percent common practice" for events like the Metallica concert to prohibit people from returning to a venue once they've left -- even with a valid ticket stub.

"It's called 'no re-entry,'" he said.

The policy keeps people from passing tickets around, attempting to smuggle in contraband or causing other problems, Schmitt said.

The lawsuit also alleges that RMC Events personnel should have known that Morgan Harrington had "suffered an injury to her face" after leaving her seat in the arena to go to the restroom because the injury had been reported to event staff. Schmitt said he could not comment on this specific allegation.

State police investigators have said they believe the young woman might have fallen on the concourse and hurt her chin. They've acknowledged also that Morgan had been drinking that night.

Gil Harrington, reached Monday evening, declined to comment about the lawsuit. She said the family's focus Monday was the anniversary of the abduction and the quest to find Morgan's killer or killers.

"Today really is about Morgan for us," she said.

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What's more important? Making sure that 2 fans don't get to see a concert for the price of one or protecting the life of a young fan?
GO, GIL!

It's funny because I called this lawsuit a long time ago. Everybody told me...No Gil and Dan would never do that. I saw it coming.

Why wouldn't they sue the venue that they believe could have saved their daughter.

I am sure Gil is sueing because Dan works for Virginia Tech and that would be a sticky wicket.

Will they win...I believe they will settle "out of court".

You see there is absolutely no video of Morgan being at the venue that night. Only the word of friends and a few that saw a lovely blonde woman enebriated and took a fall.

There is no video of Morgan outside that night either. With all those cameras inside and out...not one picture.

Also not one camera picture, the kind kids take, of Morgan and her friends in or outside the venue. Morgans camera has never been found but she was with three friends in a place full of people Morgan would have known.

Nobody saw her other than a few saw a blonde. A grandma waiting to pick up her grandson and a paperlady delivering her papers. Maybe Morgan..maybe not.

I am sure knowing the Harringtons they will do something good and worthwhile for all woman in Morgans memory.

They are that kind of people.

I am surprised it's taken her this long to file the lawsuit. Good for her!!!!!

A new sketch has been released by the FBI of the man believed to be connected to the disappearance and murder of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington. The 20-year old was last seen at a concert in Charlottesville in October 2009. Her body was found in January 2010 on a farm in Albemarle County.

A new alert posted on the “Help Save the Next Girl” Facebook page shows a revised, computer generated sketch of the man forensically linked to both Harrington and a sexual assault in Fairfax County back in 2005.

Gil Harrington, Morgan’s mother, tells WSLS the new sketch is much more realistic and hopes it will jog someone’s memory.

“It’s a very similar looking composite. You can tell it's the same person but it reads as not quite, but close to photographic which is easier to recognize than a black and white charcoal sketch” says Gil Harrington. “Someone knows this guy. No one lives in a vacuum. He's most likely in the Charlottesville area. He works with people, he gets gas, he goes out to eat, he walks free and Morgan who he murdered does not."

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The Harringtons started the “Help Save the Next Girl” campaign to bring awareness to the vulnerability of young women and empowering them to make the best choices for their own safety and the safety of their friends.

A new sketch has been released by the FBI of man believed to be linked to the murder of Morgan


Previous sketch of man believed to be linked to the murder of Morgan

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The FBI, the Virginia State Police and the Fairfax police department turned up the heat Wednesday in the search for the abductor and killer of Morgan Harrington, the 20-year-old Roanoke County woman whose skeletal remains were found more than two years ago on an Albemarle County farm.

Authorities have launched a multimedia campaign -- which includes a public service announcement by Metallica guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield -- designed to renew public interest and develop leads for investigators in both the Harrington homicide case and an earlier abduction and sexual assault of another victim in Fairfax. DNA evidence has tied the same suspect to both crimes.

Morgan Harrington's mother, Gil Harrington, said Wednesday that she and her husband, Dan, felt thrilled about the campaign.

"We are really grateful," Gil Harrington said. "Hopefully, something will shake loose."

She said she and Dan Harrington want the suspect captured before he abducts and kills again.

"We want him off the streets to save the next girl," she said. "That's my whole motivation. It's not retribution."


Courtesy Virginia State Police
An example of the digital billboards set to appear in Roanoke, Richmond, Washington, D.C., and in 23 other states along the East Coast. Click to see a larger version.

As part of the campaign, enhanced composite sketches of the suspect will appear on bus shelters in Washington, D.C., and on digital billboards there, the cities of Roanoke and Richmond and 23 states along the East Coast. Corinne Geller, a state police spokeswoman, said it is her understanding that Charlottesville does not have digital billboards.

Other components include a website dedicated to the Harrington case, the announcement by Metallica's Hetfield urging anyone with information about the case to come forward, social media outreach and more.

The FBI said similar multimedia campaigns have led to the arrests of the East Coast Rapist as well as James "Whitey" Bulger, alleged to have been a murderous organized crime boss in the Boston area.

Morgan Harrington disappeared Oct. 17, 2009, after attending a portion of a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. She left alone and was not allowed to return to the concert after exiting. She was last seen that night, apparently hitchhiking, on a bridge near the arena. Her skeletal remains were discovered Jan. 26, 2010, on a farm in Albemarle County, and her death was later ruled a homicide.

DNA evidence has linked her case to the Sept. 24, 2005, abduction and sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman in Fairfax. The woman's abductor has been described as a black male with black hair and facial hair at the time of attack. He was about 6 feet tall and was believed to have been between the ages of 25 and 35 years old in 2005.

According to the FBI's news release, "People who know the suspect may not believe that he is capable of committing these crimes. He may not necessarily have a violent criminal history."

The enhanced composite sketches were posted on the FBI's website in late April without any public notification. They received little media attention until earlier this month after someone came across the sketches on the FBI site and shared them through social media.

Geller said that news coverage generated 25 to 30 new leads.

Gil Harrington said Wednesday that the new sketches seem more believable than the previous composite image.

"The scary thing is he looks normal," she said. "The face of evil blends in. But somebody knows him. He does not live in a vacuum."

FBI spokesman Andrew Ames said in an email Wednesday that "technology has advanced considerably since the time of the first sketch."

Ames said discussion at the FBI about initiating the multimedia campaign with the state police, Fairfax police and other law enforcement agencies began last fall.

"It has been a collaborative effort throughout," he said. "We often have resources that we provide to local law enforcement agencies around the county; one aspect is our media capabilities."

Gil Harrington said she and her husband praise the collaboration and are hopeful it will lead to the apprehension of their daughter's killer.

But even a successful arrest and prosecution won't bring Morgan back, she said, or ease the anguish about the circumstances of her death.

"It is a purgatory. It is an irrevocable blow."

Law enforcement encourages anyone with information about the case to contact the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI or the Virginia State Police tip line at 434-352-3467. A reward totaling $150,000 is offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case
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150,000 dollars should bring in some leads so I don't get why this Man has not been caught.

I would bet Jeanne is on top of this.

ROANOKE COUNTY, VA --
A retired Virginia State Police Lieutenant has written an open letter to the killer or killers of Roanoke County Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.

Ret. Lt. Joe Rader is a father himself, and was the lead investigators on the unsolved murder.

Below is the letter:

You know my face and voice because you have closely followed the case. Now, I no longer speak as a COP or for the state police, but as a father, husband, brother, friend to others and person of faith. I retired from law enforcement and the case, but their hard work continues every day. I have not run away from wanting to help find the TRUTH of what happened that chilly October night at JPJA and the bridge in Charlottesville, VA. Some people evaluated every word I said in press conferences as some sort of secret coded messages, but that was never the case.

So there is no confusion for you, I will be very blunt- YOU are not the same person you were in October 2009, because you hold the TRUTH of what happened to Morgan that October night and it has consumed your conscience every day. You see, you have important information from that night! It is time for YOU to DO THE RIGHT THING and free the burden of your conscience with the information you have. It is time for YOU to stand up in the name of humanity and justice. It is time for YOU to show that you have a sympathetic and dignified place in your heart so heavily troubled, regardless of your involvement in the circumstances leading to Morgan’s death.

Money has not brought you forward, but I understand it. No amount of money can clear a conscience that hides the truth. So what has held you back from making that call? Maybe you talked to law-enforcement and they missed your message. It can happen, so pick up the phone and call the VSP, AMW, FBI, or Crime Stoppers tip line. You have no excuses of lack of options to call! Is it embarrassment, fear, stigma, or skepticism that your information might point the finger at you? YOU have the TRUTH that will lead to solving the case, and that information will set your conscience free and bring peace to a family. The facts you have can be verified, but you must be totally honest. Half-truths are no more than little lies and will not relieve your heavy burden. It is time for YOU to come full circle and DO THE RIGHT THING!

How have YOU faced your children, friends, siblings or parents these past couple of years? I bet YOU have imagined the pain of losing one of them to a death that was senseless! I bet YOU would fight every battle to bring them back or at least find the TRUTH and the person responsible. YOU would accept nothing less than for people to fight for your cause if you had suffered the same tragedy. I know YOU have a conscience because you consider these things and it makes you nauseated! What have you seen when you look in the mirror? That has to be an image that causes you shame because you have the answers and know YOU must DO THE RIGHT THING.

So, there is no option to free you of this burden except to make the call now. One day, we all will face the judgment of who we believe is our Creator. At that time, there is no second chance to clear your conscience because you failed to DO THE RIGHT THING. Maybe you are not religious, but I wonder if you haven’t sought forgiveness from a Higher Authority. If so, I am certain you haven’t found that peace because you have yet to DO THE RIGHT THING! Call the tip lines or Crime Stoppers with the information that you know will bring this case to a conclusion. Call someone that you feel comfortable will talk to you and the police to understand what happened that night with Morgan Harrington! Do THE RIGHT THING now!

Joe Rader, Retired Lieutenant, Virginia State Police

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February 19, 2013

The family of Morgan Harrington is reacting to reports of an attempted abduction at the University of Virginia.

Police say early Sunday morning a student hailed a cab, got inside and told the driver where her apartment was. The driver allegedly took her to another location and tried to assault her before the student got away.

Now, the Harringtons are urging the student who filed the anonymous report to go to police, according to family friend Kenny Jarels.

"They are hoping that maybe she will come forward with some information to the University of Virginia police that can make the community aware of who this person is," said Jarels.

Jarels says speaking to police could not only prevent it from happening again, but it could also provide the missing puzzle piece they have been searching for in Morgan's death.

"It always sends red flags up to us when we hear about something like this in this community because we never know if this is the guy that we're looking for," said Jarels.

Jarels, who has been involved in the search for Harrington's killer, says both cases are similar -- involving college-aged women, strangers and cars.

Jarels says both he and the Harringtons are happy the UVa. student is safe, but that is not always the case.

"The next girl may not be so lucky. Morgan wasn't lucky. Morgan did supposedly get in a vehicle with a stranger, at least that's what they're reporting, and we know the outcome of that," said Jarels. "We don't want to see that happen again."

The Help Save the Next Girl Foundation, established after Morgan's abduction and murder, educates young women about personal safety.

Morgan Harrington disappeared after leaving a concert at John Paul Jones Arena in 2009. Her remains were found on an Albemarle County farm a few months later. No one has been charged with her death.
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Video at link

New developments in the disappearance of a Pennsylvania woman could mean a step forward for the Morgan Harrington case. The sketch of the man believed to be the top suspect in Harrington's murder is making the rounds in connection with 21-year-old Kortne Stouffer, a missing Pennsylvania woman.

Kortne Stouffer vanished from her Palmyra, Pennsylvania apartment July 29. A police officer was one of the last people to see her, after being called to the apartment for a disturbance.

The sketch is being circulated in the Harrisburg area by a bounty hunter who thinks he can help with the case.

We spoke with Morgan Harrington's mother Gil, who found out about the sketch circulation Monday morning.

"This is a serial offender, if not a serial murderer. We have said that for years and I have also been adamant that I didn't want to sit back and just wait for the next body. I believe there are more bodies, I do," she said.

Gil Harrington says this latest information demonstrates that the suspect is cocky and comfortable, and she believes that someone is helping him. She also says she is afraid to put too much hope and credence in this latest information.

"We arrest him, my Morgan is as dead as she was the day before. It doesn't make it okay, but it does mean when we get an arrest, that perpetrator will not be harming any other young women," she stated.

Law enforcement is not making any connection between the two cases right now. Virginia State Police says it has no evidence to link the Harrington case to the Pennsylvania disappearance. The department went on to say, at this time, the only crime the Harrington case is connected to is a 2005 sexual assault that occurred in the city of Fairfax, Va. The sketch has been circulating on Facebook and within the Palmyra, Pennsylvania community.
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Video at link

That poor family has been through hell and have always presented themselves with class. I pray they find this man and can connect him to Morgan, Kortne and other missing women.

A new witness has come forward in the Morgan Harrington murder case.

On October 17, 2009, 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington was reported missing after leaving a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. On January 26, 2010, her body was found on an Albemarle County farm.

Harrington's parents are now filing an amended civil lawsuit - replacing a previous one - with new details about the condition Morgan may have been in before she left JPJA that October night.

The civil lawsuit paints a new timeline of how a bystander described encountering a bloodied Morgan Harrington the night of the Metallica concert. According to the suit, the bystander says she saw Harrington in a bathroom at the arena with a two- to three-inch cut on her chin. She says Harrington was bleeding substantially and acting erratically, but the bystander says she did not smell alcohol on Harrington.

"There is new information," says Lee Livingston, Harrington's lawyer.

Reports of the chin injury surfaced early in the investigation, but the depth of the details were never released to the media until now.

The suit says Harrington passed through the front door of the arena - passing in plain view of event staff. The suit further states "she had an obvious wound on her face and RMC staff could see Morgan was incapacitated."

Harrington's parents are suing Regional Marketing Concepts, Inc. for negligence and breach of contract. They are seeking a total of $3.9 million. They say it's not about the money, it's about holding a third party accountable.

"This case may shed light on whether others who saw her in distress acted in ways to keep her out of harm's way," said Lee Livingston, Harrington's lawyer.

The Harrington family also pointed out a series of 40 assaults at or within a half-mile of the arena between 2004 and 2009, leading up to Harrington's death.

A hearing has been set on the amended complaint for April 18, 2013 at 11 a.m. at Charlottesville Circuit Court.

Spokesperson for the Virginia State Police says the civil lawsuit is not hindering the criminal investigation.
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Video at link

Fantastic News!!

Did Jesse Matthew kill Morgan Harrington?
By Mary Cella
updated7:45 PM EDT, Mon September 29, 2014

Cops: forensic evidence links suspect in Hannah Graham’s kidnapping to Harrington’s murder/Harrington disappeared from a concert in 2009, her body was found months later. Hannah Graham was last seen on September 13

Police announced that they have found a forensic link between the man accused of kidnapping University of Virginia student Hannah Graham and the 2009 murder of Morgan Harrington.  Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student, vanished after leaving a Metallica concert on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville.  Her body was found a few months later in a nearby field.  Her killer was never found, but investigators did link DNA evidence in her case to an unsolved 2005 sexual assault.

Could 32-year-old Jesse Matthew have perpetrated all 3 of these crimes?  The nursing assistant is currently behind bars, charged with kidnapping Graham with the intent to defile.  She was last seen leaving a bar in downtown Charlottesville with Matthew on September 13.  Could this well-regarded member of the community be a serial rapist and murderer?

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February 7, 2015

After Morgan Harrington's body turned up in an Albemarle County hayfield in 2009, authorities were able to obtain crime-scene DNA evidence. What they didn't have yet was a forensic match to a suspect in Virginia's groundbreaking databank of felons' DNA.

As it turns out, there were some missed opportunities to obtain that match — commonly referred to as a "hit" — years earlier. Jesse Matthew Jr., who has been forensically linked but not charged in the Harrington case, had been accused of sexually assaulting two women at separate Virginia universities in 2002 and 2003. Had he been charged, police would have collected Matthew's DNA. But the cases were dropped after the women declined to press charges.

Matthew was convicted of trespassing in 2010, but that offense was not on the list of misdemeanors that would require him to submit a DNA sample — a limitation that could be erased in future cases if legislation pending in the General Assembly is approved. Authorities finally obtained Matthew's DNA from a cheek swab after he was charged in last September's disappearance of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, whose body was found a few miles from where Harrington's had been discovered five years earlier. That evidence linked Matthew to a 2005 sexual assault in Fairfax County and to the death of Harrington. OK then why has he not been charged yet?

Graham's slaying illustrates why expansion of Virginia's DNA collection effort is a good idea, proponents say.

"In Hannah's case, if Jesse Matthew is in fact guilty, she would be alive today if we could have legally taken his DNA in that previous conviction," Albemarle County Sheriff Chip Harding told The Associated Press before testifying in favor of the legislation at the General Assembly.

Supporters include Hannah Graham's father, John Graham, and Harrington's mother, Gil Harrington, who formed the nonprofit Save the Next Girl organization after her daughter's killing.

"We have the technology, and it should be utilized," Harrington said. "There have been so many high-profile crimes. The time to get this done is now."

DNA databank expansion has its critics, however. Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said expanding it raises privacy and constitutional search-and-seizure concerns and could exacerbate existing racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

"Moreover, there is further reason to question the basic fairness of imposing this blanket testing on all who are convicted of minor crimes," Gastanaga said, adding that many people facing misdemeanor charges plead guilty and probably would not fully understand the ramifications of giving up genetic information that is far more revealing than a simple fingerprint.

"Who knows how DNA in a data bank could be used in the future? Gathering up everyone with a certain marker? Predicting dangerousness, mental illness, disease?" Gastanaga said.

Such concerns have done little to slow the expansion of DNA databanks nationwide as police and lawmakers seek broader powers to prevent new crimes and solve old ones.

Since Virginia became the first state to establish a DNA databank for violent felons in 1989, others have followed. Now 48 states collect DNA for all convicted felons while Minnesota and Missouri collect it for a limited number of violent or sex-related felonies, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Virginia is also among the 42 states that take DNA samples for at least some misdemeanor convictions.

New York became the first state to collect DNA in all felonies and misdemeanors, except traffic offenses punishable only by fines, in 2012 and is being joined by Wisconsin this year.

Collection of DNA upon arrest, rather than conviction, in felony cases also is becoming more common. The Urban Institute reports that 28 states now authorize collection of DNA from people arrested in at least some felony cases — a practice that was upheld last year in a 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in a Maryland case. Virginia is among the states that take DNA upon arrest for some serious felonies, and that aspect of the law would not be affected by the pending legislation to expand the list of misdemeanor convictions.

The three bills under consideration vary in exactly which misdemeanors would be added. Among the possibilities are trespassing, stalking, violating a protective order and indecent exposure. Virginia already has about 384,000 samples in its DNA databank, which produced 513 hits in 2014, according to the state Department of Forensic Science.

Harding said the proposals to add more misdemeanors are a good start, but he would like an even broader expansion, citing New York as the model. According to the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services, DNA samples collected in the misdemeanor cases that were added to the state's program in 2012 have provided links to 35 homicides.

Expansion comes at a cost, however, and that likely will be a factor in Virginia lawmakers' deliberations. Sen. Mark Obenshain's bill was endorsed by the Courts of Justice Committee but referred to the Finance Committee, which will consider its estimated cost of $232,500 per year for analyzing up to 10,000 additional samples per year. State budget officials say that estimate is for supplies only, and it could be higher if more analysts have to be hired to process DNA samples.


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DNA Links Murder of Hannah Graham & Morgan Harrington
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OCTOBER 10, 2014

CHARLOTTESVILLVE, Va. — Sources confirm that at least two local cab employees informed federal and state investigators that Jesse Matthew Jr. — the man behind bars for the abduction of missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham — was working as a cab driver the night murdered Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington disappeared.

Those sources indicated Matthew was among the cab drivers who police interviewed after Harrington disappeared. Virginia State Police was not the agency that interviewed Matthew.

As CBS 6 News reporter Laura French first reported that forensic evidence also links Matthew to Harrington on the night she vanished, French has also learned that investigators have interviewed at least 20 other cab employees from around Charlottesville to learn more about that October night as they did after Harrington went missing after leaving the John Paul Jones Arena.

Sources said Jesse Matthew was one of the cab drivers on the road on Oct. 17, 2009 five years ago.

Career cab Driver Melvin Carter, who knew Matthew, said he reached out to investigators five years ago after being questioned about local cab companies.

“Everything is starting to add up everything is starting to add up,” Carter said. “I asked which taxi cab she got into they said, ‘Yes, she did jump into a taxi cab that night before last being seen alive.'”

Sources also confirmed that the cab that Matthew drove in 2009 was seized by authorities from a farm two weeks ago as part of their active investigation.

“He could have made an impression on her. Because what I heard from her mental state, she was upset. So she may have found someone who was loving and trusting and comfort her,” Carter said.

Those close to Matthew in 2009 when Harrington disappeared, told CBS 6 News that they informed investigators that they would joke with their former co-worker that he resembled a sketch of the man linked to a 2005 rape in Fairfax — and the man linked to Harrington. They said Matthew would at times brush it off. But at other times, they said Matthew would get visibly upset and disappear for hours.

Dan Harrington, Morgan Harrington’s father, said he is encouraged by this latest possible break, but said that the news is still bittersweet since his daughter was murdered.

But the family has been waiting for this, and as more pieces of the puzzle are coming together, that opens more doors as investigators build their case to find justice for his daughter.

The sources would not indicate what Matthew may or may not have done with Harrington, however the sources indicated that the forensic evidence match showed Harrington had some sort of contact with Matthew the night she disappeared outside John Paul Jones arena on October 17, 2009. Her remains were found in January 2010 on an Albemarle County farm.


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Had never considered that she got into a cab.

September 15, 2015



Jesse Matthew, the man charged in the abduction and killing of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, is now facing charges in the 2009 death of another college student.

CBS affiliate WDBJ reports a grand jury in Albermarle County, Virginia on Tuesday indicted Matthew on charges of first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile in the death of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.

Each charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

Harrington, 20, disappeared October 17, 2009 after leaving a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. Her remains were found months later on a rural farm in Albermarle County.

Matthew already faces charges in the abduction and killing of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham.

Police say he was the last person seen with Graham, 18, on Charlottesville's downtown pedestrian mall before she vanished in September of 2014. Her remains were found in rural Albermarle County five weeks later.

In June, Matthew was convicted of attempted capital murder and sex crimes against a woman in Fairfax County in a 2005 case. Matthew entered an Alford Plea, acknowledging that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict him but not technically admitting guilt. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced in the Fairfax case in October.

He faces death if convicted of Graham's murder.

Prosecutors have previously said the 2005 case was linked through DNA to Graham's murder and Harrington's disappearance.


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"48 Hours" kicks off its 28th season with a two-hour primetime investigation into who killed Hannah Graham and the terrifying fear that the accused killer may have struck before. "Hannah Graham: Deadly Connections" airs Saturday, Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

October 2, 2015

FAIRFAX, Va. — The accused killer of two Virginia college students was sentenced Friday to three life prison terms for a 2005 sexual assault case in Fairfax County, Va.
Jesse Matthew Jr. was sentenced on attempted capital murder and sexual assault charges of a woman a decade ago. The judge ordered the sentences to be served consecutively.

Matthew, of Charlottesville, Va., also faces first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile charges in connection with the murders of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham and Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.

The woman in the 2005 case was attacked as she walked home from the supermarket. She was 26 years old at the time.

Matthew entered an Alford plea in the case in June. By doing so, he agreed the Commonwealth had enough evidence to convict him without admitting any crime.

DNA evidence collected from Matthew during last year's investigation into Graham's disappearance linked him to the Fairfax County case.

Matthew's family asked the judge for leniency.
After the sentence was announced, Matthew's mother screamed, "No, No, no! I hope you rot in hell!" She was escorted out of court.

On Tuesday, a former girlfriend of Matthew's claimed in a letter that Matthew had been raped as a child. Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh, however, doubted those claims and argued they were irrelevant to the case regardless of their authenticity.

In the sentencing, Judge David Schell said Matthew's attack was vicious and brutal and the victim suffered severely.

Harrington disappeared Oct. 17, 2009, after a Metallica concert in Charlottesville, Va. Her T-shirt was later found on a nearby tree limb and her body was found more than three months later in a field in Albemarle County, Va. The location was about six miles from where Fairfax County native Hannah Graham's remains would be discovered nearly five years later.

Harrington’s death was ruled a homicide, but officials have not said how she was killed.

Graham disappeared in 2014.

Detectives said they have long known there was a connection between the murders of Harrington and Graham, but it wasn't until June that Matthew was convicted of attempted capital murder and sex crimes against a different Fairfax County woman in 2005. Police were then able to definitively make the connection, thanks to testimony from that victim.

Harrington's mother, Gil, calls the woman, who has not been identified because she is a victim of sexual assault, a hero. "Without her testimony, for 10 years to have her justice and to speak her truth in court, we wouldn't be anywhere."

Matthew's trial in the Graham case is set for July 2016.

He will go on trial for Harrington's death in October 2016.


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Since he's already in prison for life I don't understand why there are going to be more trials at the taxpayer's expense.