Human remains discovered in a rural property situated outside of the University of Virginia has been positively identified as the body of missing university student Hannah Graham.
The Albemarle County Police Department says the state medical examiner has confirmed that that the remains found near Old Lynchburg Road around 10 miles outside the university town were indeed the body of the 18-year-old Graham who was last seen by witnesses with 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew, Jr. at the Tempo restaurant and bar in Downtown Mall, situated a mile and a half away from her apartment near the campus.
"We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Hannah," her parents John and Sue Graham say in a statement. "Put simply, Hannah lit up our lives, the lives of our family and the lives of her friends and others who knew her."
Matthew was arrested by the police on Sept. 24 and is currently facing charges of abduction with intent to defile Graham, but Attorney Denise Lunsford of the Albemarle County Commonwealth says the focus of the investigation has shifted towards determining what charges to be filed against the suspect. Under Virginia state law, a suspect found to have killed the victim during a rape or abduction may face a mandatory life sentence or the death penalty.
"We are working diligently with local law enforcement on the investigation to ensure that we make the best determination for our community and the Grahams in the pursuit of justice," Lunsford says.
Graham's body was found on an abandoned property situated around six miles from the location where the remains of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington was discovered in 2009. Police say the arrest of Matthew provided them a "significant break" in the case of Harrington and found a link between Graham and Harrington's cases. Matthew is currently under police custody and is set to be transported to Fairfax City in Northern Virginia where he is set to face charges of sexual assault and attempted murder in a separate case filed against him in 2005.
Police say Graham had been drinking the night before she went missing and left her apartment at about midnight to meet up with her friends. However, video surveillance shows Graham became disoriented in the Charlottesville neighborhood where she just moved in about two weeks earlier and lost her way. Last contact with Graham was with her friends, who received a text message from her asking for someone to meet up with her. Surveillance videos show Graham was wandering around Downtown Mall with Matthew before her trail goes cold.
