Man charged with murder in death of UVa student

Hannah Graham, 18, a University of Virginia student who went missing late 2014, is shown in this missing persons poster released by Charlottesville Police Department in Charlottesville, Virginia, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. (Reuters)

Prosecutors have charged a Charlottesville, Virginia, man with first-degree murder and abduction in the death of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, authorities said on Tuesday.

Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore, disappeared in September and her remains were found the next month. Her disappearance shocked the university in central Virginia and drew national headlines.

Jesse Matthew Jr., a hospital worker and one-time college soccer player, has been charged with first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile, county prosecutor Denise Lunsford said during a televised news conference.

“The prosecutions for the abduction and murder of Hannah will bring Mr. Matthew to justice for these crimes, crimes that were committed against Hannah Graham, against her family and against our community,” she said.

Matthew also is charged in connection with a rape case in Fairfax, Virginia. He has been forensically linked to the death investigation of Virginia Tech University student Morgan Harrington, who disappeared after leaving a Charlottesville concert in October 2009. Her body was discovered in 2010.

Matthew is jailed in Fairfax County, in northern Virginia.