This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/jesse-matthew-to-appear-in-court-for-plea-agreement-hearing/2016/03/01/f6b7093a-dfd8-11e5-846c-10191d1fc4ec_story.html

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Jesse Matthew to appear in court for plea agreement hearing Jesse Matthew convicted in slayings of college students
(about 7 hours later)
Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., the Charlottesville-area man who is charged with the disappearances and deaths of two young women in the college town, is expected to enter guilty pleas in both cases when he appears in Albemarle County court later today. A Charlottesville-area man was convicted in the high-profile killings of two Va. college students Wednesday as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that spared him the possibility of facing the death penalty.
Matthew, 33, had faced the possibility of the death penalty for the abduction and murder of Hannah Graham, an 18-year-old Fairfax County resident who was a sophomore at the University of Virginia when she went missing in the fall of 2014. Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., 33, entered guilty pleas in Albemarle County court for the 2014 slaying of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham and the 2009 killing of Virginia Tech junior Morgan Harrington.
Matthew, who was charged with the disappearances and deaths of the two young women, faced the possibility of being sentenced to death if he was found guilty at trial in the slaying of Graham, 18, of Fairfax County.
Matthew was arrested in Graham’s case in September 2014 weeks after she went missing following a night out with friends in downtown Charlottesville. Her disappearance sparked a massive search and her body was later found on an abandoned property outside the college town.
After Matthew’s arrest, he was linked through a DNA test to a cold case that bore striking similarities to the Graham disappearance — the slaying of Harrington, 20. Harrington had vanished in Oct. 2009 after a Metallica concert in Charlottesville and her body was found months later in an Albemarle County pasture. Matthew was indicted in Harrington’s death about a year after he was charged with Graham’s slaying.
[Here’s how police traced Jesse Matthew to the slaying of Hannah Graham][Here’s how police traced Jesse Matthew to the slaying of Hannah Graham]
After Matthew was arrested in September of that year, he was linked through a DNA test to a cold case that bore striking similarities to the Graham disappearance — the slaying of Morgan Harrington, 20. A Virginia Tech student, Harrington had vanished in Oct. 2009 after a Metallica concert in Charlottesville and her body was found months later in an Albemarle County pasture. Matthew was indicted in Harrington’s death about a year after he was charged with Graham’s slaying.
In a letter released to reporters Monday, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert N. Tracci wrote that Matthew “will be entering pleas of guilty to resolve both the Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington abduction and murder cases.”In a letter released to reporters Monday, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert N. Tracci wrote that Matthew “will be entering pleas of guilty to resolve both the Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington abduction and murder cases.”
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. The terms of the plea deal have not been released.The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. The terms of the plea deal have not been released.
In a brief interview Tuesday, Tracci said that the plea agreement had been in the works for some time. He said he had met personally with the families of both victims to discuss possible resolutions of the case. In a brief interview Tuesday, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert N. Tracci said that the plea agreement had been in the works for some time. He said he had met personally with the families of both victims to discuss possible resolutions of the case.
“I’ve been in close consultation with Hannah and Morgan’s parents from day one,” Tracci said. “We established certain objectives that the plea should meet and that’s what we’ve done.”“I’ve been in close consultation with Hannah and Morgan’s parents from day one,” Tracci said. “We established certain objectives that the plea should meet and that’s what we’ve done.”
Tracci, speaking generally, said that any plea agreement should meet three objectives: community safety, accountability and finality.Tracci, speaking generally, said that any plea agreement should meet three objectives: community safety, accountability and finality.
“The very first priority has been to work toward a resolution,” Tracci said.“The very first priority has been to work toward a resolution,” Tracci said.
[The three cases police say are linked to Jesse Matthew][The three cases police say are linked to Jesse Matthew]
Matthew is currently serving three life sentences after he was convicted in June on sex assault charges in an attack that occurred in Fairfax County in 2005. He entered an Alford plea, which allowed him to submit that the prosecutors in Fairfax had enough evidence to convict him in the case without admitting that he was guilty. In that case, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh presented evidence showing that DNA recovered from the victim’s fingernail was highly likely to belong to Matthew.Matthew is currently serving three life sentences after he was convicted in June on sex assault charges in an attack that occurred in Fairfax County in 2005. He entered an Alford plea, which allowed him to submit that the prosecutors in Fairfax had enough evidence to convict him in the case without admitting that he was guilty. In that case, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh presented evidence showing that DNA recovered from the victim’s fingernail was highly likely to belong to Matthew.
One possible outcome from the hearing Wednesday is that Matthew could agree to accept responsibility — in whole or in part — for the slayings of Graham and Harrington in exchange for life sentences in both. If Matthew does enter a guilty plea in either case, he will also be forgoing the opportunity to appeal the conviction in the future.
Tracci declined to comment on the details of the plea Tuesday but noted that the agreement would be explained fully in court.
Gil Harrington said in an interview Monday that her family had been working for years to seek justice on behalf of their daughter. When she finally learned about the agreement from the Albemarle prosecutor, she said that her family felt relief along with enduring sadness.Gil Harrington said in an interview Monday that her family had been working for years to seek justice on behalf of their daughter. When she finally learned about the agreement from the Albemarle prosecutor, she said that her family felt relief along with enduring sadness.
“It is not a fist-pumping time of celebrations,” Harrington said. “Our daughter is still as dead as she was six and a half years ago — nothing can change that.”“It is not a fist-pumping time of celebrations,” Harrington said. “Our daughter is still as dead as she was six and a half years ago — nothing can change that.”