Hannah Graham: Deadly Connections & Stalked by Evil | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

going to continue to work relentlessly till we find Hannah Graham. >> Somebody's got to know where she is.
Cuz it's been a week and we can't find her. >> My Facebook feed was just waterlogged
with, you know, Hannah Graham missing, missing, missing, missing. My initial reaction was, "How could this
be?" >> The reaction on Twitter is a pretty good barometer of the way people care.
Neil Logenstein, WTOP News. The disappearance of Hannah Graham brought us down here to Charlottesville for what
was the most extensive search in Virginia history, and it left the audience across the country hungry for
every detail on Twitter. Everyone had an idea about what police could do to find
her. >> She's our only daughter and she's enormously precious to us all. >> You know, immediately I contacted the
police department and said, "What do we have here? You know, do you feel like this person went missing on her own?"
They said, "No, this was out of character. This is being seen as suspicious." You've got different women within that
area who had gone missing. You had Morgan Harrington, Alexis Murphy, you know, Hannah Graham was the latest one.
You know, all these names, you go down the list. >> Continuing coverage now for the search
for Alexis Murphy. >> 5 years since Morgan Harrington was last seen alive on for a missing University
of Virginia student. >> Your heart squeezes and you say, "Oh no, not another one."
>> I received a call from the University of Virginia police who informed me that
Morgan's purse had been found in a parking lot. I knew that minute something terrible
had had happened. >> We still haven't found Alexis, but the tapes in and of themselves are haunting.
What happened? What transpired in those minutes that we don't have her on camera
that caused her to disappear literally into thin air? >> We are part of a club. We're part of a
ugly little club. The surveillance tapes really were the the turning point in this case.
>> She's coming from the direction you were coming from the University of Virginia.
>> In one of those images, she's walking with a man. >> We do have tape here supposedly shows
them together. >> After the uh Hannah Graham case broke and my chief deputy said, you know, that
looks just like our composite. He looks like the asalent in our case. In my mind, this was not a first- timer.
>> We had these missing girls and of course their families were looking for answers.
DNA science is ultimately what connected three separate cases. I'm Susan Spencer. Tonight on 48 hours,
Hannah Graham. Deadly connections. 48 hours. We'll be back in 90 seconds. Charlottesville is beautiful. Beautiful
downtown mall, great restaurants. It's a, you know, college town. >> Charlottesville, Virginia. Historic,
quaint, home to the prestigious University of Virginia. 18-year-old Hannah Elizabeth Graham
loved it here. When she went missing on September 13th, 2014, she had just started her second
year. A few days later, her distraught parents, Sue and John Graham, appealed for help.
>> This is every parent's worst nightmare. I'm certain that everybody knows that
what happened to Hannah could happen to their child. Please, please help us. The disappearance outraged the entire
community from fellow students. >> You make things good, Hannah Graham. >> To the police chief, Tim Longo.
>> We're going to continue our work. We're going to continue to work relentlessly
until we find Hannah Graham. We knew at that time that she had gone out to dinner with friends that night
and that, you know, like most college students, she had gone to a couple parties.
>> I'm going to start with the family. And >> WTVR reporter Laura French, a 48 hours
consultant, has followed this story from day one. >> We know that after she left that party,
no one had heard from her other than a couple text messages. And that text at 1:06 a.m. was, you know, I'm trying to
get to a party, I believe, and I'm lost. >> I'm lost. >> It wasn't completely out of character that she'd be lost
here. She moved into off-campus housing. School had just started. We were just a
few weeks into the school year, and you know, you can lose your bearings, especially in and out of that downtown
mall area. >> So, this is the mall in Charlottesville. This is the last place really where we
see Hannah Graham. >> That's right. This is known as the downtown Charlottesville pedestrian mall
and it is the last known image that we have of Hannah Graham on this mall. >> Popular place with the kids.
>> You definitely see kids down here, but this is not what we would call the hangout.
Britishborn Hannah Graham moved with her parents to Virginia when she was just 5
years old. Her friend Llaya Nasser remembers her as super smart, musically gifted, and with a dry sense of humor.
She's one of those people who just knew who she was. Uh very much a go-getter. She was very confident um and driven.
>> Hannah is uh witty and much smarter than any coach that was on the field. >> Just shy of 6 feet, Hannah was a
standout on the softball field. High school coach Craig Maniglia. >> As time went on, she moved herself up to
her senior year when she became captain of the team. >> Vivacious, popular, talented. No
surprise that Hannah Graham's disappearance exploded on social media. >> Prosecutors say that will happen.
>> WTOP radio reporter Neil Augenstein, who worked with 48 Hours on this investigation, was tweeting details
almost by the minute. We've been able to tell it as it's developing. With Twitter, you can tell
the little bits that caught your attention and do add color and perspective and and context to a story.
>> County Sergeant testified today. >> And the story became even more intriguing as video began to surface.
Here is Hannah at a UVA event only 10 days before she went missing. An eerie contrast to the grainy images of her
caught on tape by surveillance cameras the night she disappeared. >> Well, the Hannah Graham case resonated
so much more with Charlottesville because, you know, she was living here in Charlottesville.
>> Attorney and longtime Charlottesville resident Lloyd Snook has been following
the case closely. >> Her disappearance was reported within a day. They could track through the
various uh video cameras where she had gone. She had been downtown >> and then the trail goes cold. Then she
just vanished. >> He walked us through the videos of Hannah's last known hours. Starting as
she leaves her apartment, a normal kid out on a Friday night. >> This is McGrady's. This was a
restaurant. And you will see Hannah Graham coming in from the left, the lower left. She's highlighted. Now, I'm
going to stop that because, you know, that stumble to some people who watch this is very telling.
>> She seems a little unsteady on her feet both here and later on in the video. She's coming from the direction uh that
you would come from if you were coming from the University of Virginia. >> And then after a few minutes, we see
her. She reemerges. And what do you think this was all about? My guess, purely a guess, is that
she went by McGrady's to see if a friend was in there who might buy her a drink or something like that.
>> Police believe Hannah had been drinking that night. She's next seen on video from a nearby gas station. And this
time, I mean, she is running. Who knows what that means? >> You know, it it's really hard to say. I
It's not a particularly dangerous neighborhood. It's a well lit area >> and I think that the cops have looked at
this and there doesn't appear to be anybody running after her. >> So, she's running now. She's going
toward the mall. >> Just seconds before Hannah next surfaces on security footage near a local
pizzeria, its camera catches a man walking on the downtown mall. >> You'll notice he's a pretty distinctive
looking guy. He's a big man. He's got dreads. It's kind of obvious why people would notice him over the course of the
next half hour. >> He disappears here briefly and then we're about to see Hannah here. She's by
herself. >> By herself. >> But soon the man makes a Uturn and then reappears now walking in Hannah's
direction. >> So you see a pretty big guy there. >> Yeah. >> Keeping behind several other people. And
at that point, he's probably 20, 30 yards behind Hannah. >> The last video from a jewelry store
camera shows Hannah and the unidentified man now walking side by side, >> and they seem to be walking in sync
together. >> By enhancing the picture, police note that his arm is around her waist. very
strange to watch two people on videotape and and realize how much their lives are
going to change. You can only imagine what was going on in her mind. You can only imagine what was going on in in his
mind. >> There is no video from her last known stop. >> So this is the Tempo Bar. This is the
last place that she was seen in public. >> In public. No images of her. Um, but the
police say that several eyewitnesses put her inside that bar with the suspect. >> If that young lady's touched your life
in any way, you have the responsibility to help us find her. >> Somebody knows what happened to Hannah.
We don't know who that is, but somebody knows what happened to Hannah. >> That somebody police think may well be
that man on tape. who made the odd Uturn to walk in Hannah's direction. want to split him up. Couple guys on the
right, couple guys on the left. >> Yeah, sounds good. >> Yeah. >> News of Hannah Graham's disappearance
put normally peaceful Charlottesville on high alert. >> I was terrified when I found out just
because I know it could have easily been me cuz I've walked home alone. I definitely thought differently walking
to my car at night, having worked in that area. You know, I wanted to make sure at, you know, when I was leaving
after a newscast at 11:30 at night, that there was someone watching me walk to my
car. It was definitely on the back of everyone's minds. >> Also on the back of everyone's mind,
events of 5 years earlier when another young woman simply vanished off these streets. 2009, you have this Virginia
Tech student, Morgan Harrington, who is last seen at a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena.
It was Saturday, October 17th, 2009. 20-year-old Morgan Harrington drove from her parents' home in Rowanoke, Virginia
to the UVA campus arena to see one of her favorite bands. >> Morgan had come to spend the weekend
with us, which was not unusual, and was really excited about the Metallica concert. It was the last time her
parents, Jill and Dan Harrington, would see their daughter alive. How long was it before you were aware that anything
at all was wrong? >> On Sunday morning about 11:00, I received a call from the University of
Virginia police who informed me that Morgan's purse had been found in a parking lot.
>> I knew that minute something terrible had had happened. And Morgan, you knew was gone.
>> Morgan was like the moon. She was reflecting the light that was in the world.
>> Lindsay Crisp grew up with Morgan friends since elementary school. >> Wherever she walked in, there was a
shift in the energy. Morgan was a lot of fun. you know, she had finally reached that point in life where we had a adult
relationship with her and it was really an exciting um very gratifying point in time.
>> She was someone who loved art and music did not like math and science which is
we are math and science people. >> Lindsay was in Europe when Morgan went missing only to come home to a terrible
shock. My parents stood me in the den and they said, "We need to let you know Morgan's
gone. She's been missing for 10 days." It felt like there was no hope in that moment. And um so I ran upstairs and
just cried. Investigators had little to work with. At one point, Morgan had left
her friends. Something had happened and she ended up outside the arena. Morgan left to go to the restroom and we
have a witness that Morgan was bleeding from an injury on her face. So, we assumed that at some point between the
seat and the restroom, Morgan fell. And then the next thing we heard was that Morgan had left the building and they
wouldn't let her back in. >> There was a report that um she was seen hitchhiking. Does that make sense to
you? >> It does. Now she was reported to be confused and how's Morgan going to get
home? >> Morgan Harrington was last seen on this bridge alone on foot and possibly
injured. Unable to get back into the concert, she may have simply decided to find her own way to her friend's
apartment. A casual decision that likely cost her her life. >> I think Morgan was impaired. I think she
she was injured. She was not thinking clearly. >> Yeah. I think that someone driving a
taxi cab stopped and Morgan felt safe and got in >> and I think the rest is history.
>> But this is your theory about theory. Nobody actually saw a cab or saw her get
into a cab. >> No. >> This weekend's search for Morgan Harrington will start here where she was
last seen on this bridge. >> Within days, Morgan's disappearance was dominating the local news and social
media. Family members, volunteers, and friends will scour the Charlottesville area
looking for clues, looking for anything that could lead them to Morgan. And as with Hannah Graham, years later, the
community responded. >> We had 2,000 people searching for Morgan over a weekend.
>> Morgan's case was one of the first cases that used social media to solicit information and tips and as a
crimesolving tool. >> Was passing out flyers. We felt that the only way that we could help Morgan was
to not let Morgan's case be swept under the rug. >> If Morgan is out there and hears us, um,
please come home. >> We are trying to find you. We will never stop. We are trying, honey. Hang on.
>> Even Metallica tried to help. Any information, no matter how small you might think it is, could be that crucial
piece investigators need to help solve the case. >> Somewhere out there lies the answers or
lies the vital link of information that we need. >> Help us bring Morgan home for Christmas.
>> You are basically swinging on a pendulum between hope and despair. >> It becomes pretty clear after a couple
days that, you know, it's probably not going to turn out good. You are basically swinging on a pendulum
between hope and despair. >> It becomes pretty clear after a couple days that you know it's probably not
going to turn out good. >> Tragically, Morgan's father was right. Breaking news this afternoon out of
Albam Marl County. >> In January 2010, three months after Morgan disappeared, human remains were found on a farm just
10 miles from the UVA campus. >> We're fairly confident at this time that the remains are those of Morgan Dana
Harrington. >> She was found by a farmer who was checking his fences and saw what he
thought initially was, you know, a deer carcass, >> but it was not. it was our daughter.
>> But a forensic exam of the remains apparently yielded no clues as to who her asalent was. That would come from a
t-shirt. >> The t-shirt, I believe, was found in November, a couple weeks after Morgan
was killed. >> Found one day draped over a bush near the UVA campus. The most disturbing to
me was that it had been put out like a trophy and just the nerve and cockiness of a perpetrator who would leave a
trophy like that in the middle of a campus. >> They were able to actually pick up some
of Morgan's DNA in the t-shirt. >> Even more importantly, testing picked up unknown DNA and when police ran it
through their database, they got a hit. not to a person, but to another crime four years earlier and 100 miles away.
>> They had foreign DNA in their case, which was matched to my foreign DNA in my case.
>> In the fall of 2005, a man attacked, beat, and sexually assaulted a young woman in Fairfax, Virginia. Detective
Michael Boon was the lead investigator. >> This is just an aerial of the general
area. >> It is. It's a 2005 aerial. >> The woman who asked to be identified only as RG was walking home from her
local supermarket sometime after 8:30 p.m. She's captured here on a security camera.
>> She felt somebody behind her and she turned and was face to face with the suspect and asked him if she could help
him and he stated something to the effect that he was waiting for a friend or something and she felt uncomfortable.
Um, she had a vibe and just kept moving and when she reached the front of her residence, she said she heard footsteps
coming quickly behind her and then she was picked up off the ground. >> And how violent an attack was this?
>> You know, you call it a blitzkrieg type of attack. Comes out of nowhere. >> Blitzkrieg type of attack.
>> Yeah. Comes out of nowhere. Very fast, very violent. He takes her and carries
her across the parking lot into the wooded area down where this large tree is. I parked roughly where that green
truck is over there. >> Uhhuh. >> It was just blind luck that Mark Castro came along when he did.
>> What was the reason that you were even here that night? >> I was here uh to see a boxing match at
my friend's house. >> Just stop by and see the boxing match. >> That's right. >> When Mr. Castro pulled in and parked in
this general area, the lights from his car would have been shining into the area where they were. Those lights may
have saved the woman's life. >> The suspect stood up, looked up, and looked towards the parking lot, which is
where Mr. Castro was standing. And she said he took off running. >> Out the corner of my eye, I see a figure
standing roughly in front of that trash can. I was just shocked and I'm, you know, can am I believing what I'm seeing
right now? >> What were you seeing? >> I was seeing uh a lady that was beaten nearly to death and she was covered in
mud and covered with blood and she was walking towards me. >> Did she say anything about what had
happened? Uh she told me that you know there's a guy back there >> just back there meaning back in the
woods >> and after that I sprinted back there screaming at the top of my voice telling
whoever it was to come out >> but the attacker was gone. >> I turned around and come back to her and
then uh made sure to get her to safety. I knocked on uh each and every house until someone answered the door.
She went to Fairbeck's Hospital, uh, the emergency room, where we bring in a forensic nurse who does the sexual
assault exam. Uh, they scrape the underside of the fingernails >> and there was DNA evidence.
>> Yes. The next day, the victim, RG, was able to describe her asalent to a sketch
artist who produced a composite >> approximately um 6 6'2, maybe 200 lb, short hair with mustache and beard.
>> But a description of the suspect, a sketch, even his DNA did not answer the central question. Who was he? It would
take another tragedy and another lost life to answer that. >> The DNA evidence had been found in the
Morgan Harrington case and I just had a feeling on the Hannah Graham case. You make things good. Hannah Graham,
where are you? We want you back where you belong. >> The days go by with no trace of
secondyear UVA student Hannah Graham. Despite what would become the largest search in Virginia's history,
>> members of the Charlottesville community have turned out in forced help. Armies of Hannah's university friends
have been helping. >> Each day, hundreds of volunteers show up, including one who has lived through
this all before. >> I read that Alexis Murphy's aunt Trina was helping. Thank you, ma'am. When my
niece was missing, I wanted the whole world looking for her. >> When they had the the big search for
Hannah, I went out to help look for her. Um, it just it's just heartbreaking. >> Like the Grahams and the Harringtons,
Trina Murphy knows the pain of having a child go missing. She knows it all too well. The FBI is in day three of its
search for Alexis Murphy and there's still no sign of him. >> If anybody know anything, please,
please let us know. Please. >> They have expanded their search for Murphy. >> The more people that are looking, the
better chance we have of finding her. On August 3rd, 2013, four years after Morgan's murder, a year
before Hannah Graham went missing, Trina's niece, 17-year-old Alexis Murphy, left her home in Shipman,
Virginia, on a routine errand, Shipman's less than 40 miles from Charlottesville.
She was planning to go to Lynchberg um to buy hair extensions because she was getting her hair done for her senior
pictures. Her last tweet was birdbound. >> Alexis's mother, Laura Murphy. >> And this is a kid who tweets and calls
all the time. He's constantly trying to stay in touch, >> right? She was a very happy child.
Lexis love making people laugh. >> Go. We had videos where she dancing and she she could dance.
Her mother and aunt knew something was seriously wrong when they heard nothing from Alexis for hours.
>> There was not a single tweet, not a single text message, not a single phone call, no activity on her cell phone once
she left Liberty. That's the Liberty Gas Station where Alexis was last seen. Like Hannah
Graham, her movements caught on tape. What did you think then when you saw that tape? You know, how could she go
missing from the Liberty Gas Station? What happened? What transpired in those minutes that we don't have her on
camera? In surveillance video not yet released to the public, Alexis's car is seen leaving this gas station,
apparently following an SUV. Investigators identify its owner as one Randy Taylor, and witnesses say he often
would just hang around the gas station watching people. >> I just think that he had been stalking
her. He knew her routine. >> It didn't take much time to link him to her disappearance. They found her hair
extensions um in his trailer. She had a Monroe piercing. She had a nose piercing. She had false fingernails.
They were found in there. Um and her blood on the shirt he was wearing that day. Um seen in the video. Police find
her car in a movie theater parking lot in Charlottesville. Inside the car, they find DNA they can't
identify from several sources, but none of it matches the unknown DNA from the Harrington murder and the Fairfax rape.
Even without finding Alexis, they arrest Randy Taylor and charge him with her murder. His trial is attended by someone
who truly understands what the Murphy's are going through. >> Well, Jill reached out to us probably
about 3 weeks after Alexis was abducted. Jill Harrington makes the three and a halfhour round trip every day. And
>> I also wanted to be there and shoulder and support them any way I could. >> It means a great deal to us. Jail has
really, really helped me. >> Guilty on all counts. This >> the jury convicts Randy Taylor. He is
sentenced to life. Alexis never has been found. When we left court, they said, "We're never
going to give up searching for her." >> And now the Murphy's and the Harringtons
join the Grahams in the search for Hannah. >> Trina Murphy and I converged on Charlottesville to to talk to the
community to ask for tips, to ask for participation in search because the Grahams were unable to do that at that
time. And we wanted to get as many people out there looking for Hannah as possible
>> just to hold their hand, to hold her mother's hand and um pray for their closure, you know, for them to find
their daughter. >> We're part of a ugly little club that we have some knowledge and and some
understanding of how to proceed. Once you know how bad it feels to have a murdered child, you want to do whatever
you can to help anyone else who's in the same terrible spot that you're in. >> Police say they do have a person of
interest in the disappearance of Hannah Graham. >> On day six of Hannah's disappearance,
acting on a tip, police identify and locate the man seen on tape with her in the mall.
>> They search his apartment. They seize his car. They obtain something out of his wallet. It's a tip that's used for
cigars and they take that into evidence and they send it off to be analyzed. Within a day, the man's name leaks out.
He is 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. and before police can even confirm it to reporters, he simply walks into
the police station voluntarily. So Jesse Matthew arrived at the the Charlottesville police station and uh he
said he wanted to to get a lawyer. Matthew didn't answer any questions. Wasn't interested in in telling police
anything. Uh and he left the the police station >> with no concrete evidence. They can't
hold him. But that doesn't stop them from following him. Several hours later, while police were were following um
Jesse Matthew, he took off from his grandmother's house. >> Driving his sister's car, he suddenly
floors it >> and they lose him. Excuse me. They lose him. >> Astonishingly, the only suspect in
Hannah Graham's disappearance leaves police in the dust. >> Police did not have the authority to
chase him. They didn't have enough to arrest him really at that point, but they really thought they had their
suspect >> and he's gone. >> When news broke that Jesse Matthew was on the lamb, Twitter exploded.
>> Have all these people who are already deeply involved uh in this case, searching for answers, racking their
brains, and they're coming up with ideas and saying, "Well, why don't aren't police doing that? Why can't police do
this?" Things don't work as quickly in real life as they do on a TV show. >> I believe Jesse Matthew was the last
person she was seen with before she vanished off the face of the earth cuz it's been a week and we can't find her.
But somebody knows where she is. Somebody's got to know where she is. So, I hope and pray
that we might have an opportunity to talk to Jesse Matthew again because I think he can help us find
Hannah Graham. >> And just days after fleeing, Matthew, still on the run, is formally
charged in Hannah's abduction. >> The Commonwealth felt we had sufficient probable cause to
seek an arrest warrant for Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. of Charlottesville charging him with a
class 2 felony of abduction with the intent to defile. >> And for the first time,
>> my name is Sue Graham. >> Hannah's mother speaks out. >> Somebody listening to me today either
knows where Hannah is or knows someone who has that information. We appeal to you to come forward and
tell us where Hannah can be found. They only knew that Hannah was missing. They didn't know where she was. They
didn't know if she was alive or dead. Everybody had their fears, but nobody knew.
Now, police aren't just looking for one missing person. They are looking for two.
Days are going by and we don't know where Jesse Matthew is. In Alberl County, searches had become daily
events. Searches for both UVA student Hannah Graham and for the only suspect in her disappearance, Jesse Matthew.
Not only do we have each day that's ticking by that the Graham family doesn't know where their daughter is,
but we also have the person that they say was last seen with her. We don't know where he is. There's no clues being
offered. It was tense. >> This press conference and every press conference hereafter is about one thing
and one thing only, and that is finding Hannah. >> This was a very heated few days. I'm
hoping that they're hearing my words and and and and seeing my frustration. >> Chief Longo was was obviously very
involved in this >> and pick up the phone and tell us something regardless of how
insignificant you think it might be. >> He was speaking to the press and speaking directly to um Jesse Matthew.
>> I've made no mistake about it. We want to talk to Jesse Matthew. We want to talk about his interaction with a sweet
young girl that we can't find cuz he was with her. >> Surely someone had information about
Jesse Matthew. After all, the then 32-year-old grew up in Charlottesville, went to high school there, and was
working at the University Hospital transporting patients. >> People have been trying to learn more
about Jesse Matthew since uh they first heard his name. People who've known him had called him a gentle giant. This was
a guy who was a football player. This was a guy who was working in Charlottesville with kids. He was a a
volunteer uh football coach. >> He was a quiet guy and mentored these high school students. In fact, the night
that Hannah Graham went missing, he was at the game that Friday night helping these kids, cheering them on. So, on the
outside, nothing seemed suspect. I have talked to friends of his who said I trusted him with my children.
>> Nobody said yeah you know Jesse always had trouble and we this is the kind of
thing we would have expected. I mean that >> no if anything it was he was not capable
of premeditating anything. He may have been awkward socially sometimes and quiet but never
never could he be capable of this. >> He was a team player. He was always there and and you know participating in
team activities. >> William Hay knew Jesse Matthew when both played football at Virginia's Liberty
University which Matthew attended from 2000 to 2002. >> He knew how to play football. Um and he
was actually great at it. I I thought he had potential to do some some great things on the football field. But off
the field, information began to circulate that cast Matthew or LJ as his friends called him, in a much different
light. >> My head coach let us know they were going to put LJ off the team because
apparently he had um forced himself on a female student. Uh >> did anybody ever say, "Hey, you know
what happened? Is this true?" Once he was kicked off the team, no no one that I know of actually went out their way
just to get more detail. His roommate said that he he may not have known that he was going too far. Um but again,
that's speculation here from his roommate. There were so many rumors going around, but no, there was no
concrete evidence. >> Lynchburg police did confirm they conducted an investigation of an alleged
rape that occurred around the same time, but no criminal charges were filed. Still, Matthew left. Not just the
football team, but the university and teammates says Hayith quickly put the incident and Jesse Matthew behind them.
>> None of us came in defense of them. I mean, it lingered on for maybe a couple
of days, but then we we kept it moving. >> After Liberty, Matthew attended Christopher Newport University in
Newport News, Virginia. Again, he was on the football team. and again he left after just a few months amid allegations
of another sexual assault. >> What happened to these cases? >> It went under the radar. Um they didn't
press charges. So the next university did not know what they were getting. >> There's no requirement that that
>> there was no requirement that they needed to alert the other university of why he was transferring. So there's
these allegations and next thing you know he's transferred. They never had a determination by any anybody that he was
dangerous. >> Attorney Lloyd Snook. Looking back, you can't help but say, gosh, uh, if there
been a requirement that the colleges make this public, >> it's probably more to the point that
that when there is no actual prosecution, that's where the system fails. >> Not once, but twice.
>> That's right. After leaving his second college, Matthew came back to Charlottesville
driving a cab for a few years. He had a few minor run-ins with police, traffic violations, and trespassing.
>> To kill or hurt somebody, that's not my son. >> Matthew's father, like many, was
bewildered at the thought that Jesse could be involved in something as serious as Hannah Graham's abduction. I
can see him maybe trying to give the girl a ride home or help her out. >> Mostly I'm just really shocked.
>> Francis Lee Vandel was Matthew's landlady. >> We don't know a thing yet. We don't know
a thing. Everything seemed to be going well for Jesse. He'd had a promotion at the hospital. Charges are filed against
a man authorities believe was the last person seen with a University of Virginia student before her
disappearance more than one week ago. >> I'm watching the news. I'm shocked. I'm
like, "Wow, this this LJ that went to school with me." >> William Hay hadn't seen or heard from
Matthew in years. When he learned that his former teammate was suspected in Hannah Graham's disappearance, his
reaction was pure shock at first. >> And then next, you know, everything just stopped flashing through my head. The
incident that happened at Liberty, like, wow, could LJ have have done this? >> And how did you answer that?
>> At first, you know, I'm like, um, no. He just seemed to be uh a a caring person.
But again, then when you start looking at some of the other things, then I thought that possibly
>> you you almost get the impression of two Jesse Matthews. >> Who was the real Jesse Matthew? Maybe
this guy was was okay. People were trying to get in touch with the family with his lawyer.
>> I am Mr. Matthews attorney. I was hired by him and his family on Saturday. That's the only comment I'll make at
this time. looking, you know, asking tell us a little bit about him, you know, let us at least paint a picture
that that's fair. I think that everyone was trying to maintain hope that maybe this was a mistake.
>> But as the days wore on with no sign of Hannah Graham or Jesse Matthew, hope was
scarce with memories turning to those other young women for whom searches had failed. They may not have all been
connected, but it definitely was on the minds of people living in and around central Virginia, the Charlottesville
area. >> I think most people were beginning to think pretty bleak thoughts. You know,
somebody give us some information about something. >> Soon someone would, and the twisted
trail of Jesse Matthew would take a surprising turn into the past. This car came in front of me and stopped
and the fellow that was sitting in the driver's seat kind of glares at me. I had seen his face on the news every
morning. My heart literally probably stopped beating because I knew that was him.
This special two-part edition of 48 hours will continue. This special two-part edition of 48
Hours continues. >> There is a developing story out of Charlottesville. It was just a few hours
after this picture was taken that Hannah Elizabeth Graham went missing. >> Hannah Graham had just started her
second year at the University of Virginia. >> Going to continue to work relentlessly
until we find Hannah Graham. >> The first thing that came to my mind was the name Morgan Harrington.
>> Police are again desperate for details in the case of missing Morgan Harrington. Morgan was another college
student that had gone to a concert one October 2009 night. >> The FBI is in day three of its search
for Alexis Murphy and there's still no sign of her. >> Here you have a high school student who
leaves for the day to get some hair products. >> Alexis, if you can hear me, this is your
dad. I'm letting you know that I won't give up. I want you home. >> Hannah Graham, Morgan Harrington, Alexis
Murphy. Why in this nice area are these young girls going missing? >> If Morgan is out there and and hears us,
please come home. >> If anybody know anything, please let us know. >> We are trying to find you. We will never
stop. >> All we want to do now is to bring Hannah home safely. >> They could track through the various uh
video cameras where she had gone. They knew that she had been at the University of Virginia at a bar. Then she had been
walking around a bar a mile away. Then she had been downtown. Then she just vanished.
>> Somebody listening to me today either knows where Hannah is or knows someone who has that information.
>> They didn't know if she was alive or dead. Everybody had their fears, but nobody knew.
>> Split them up. Couple guys on the right. >> You are basically swinging on a pendulum
between hope and despair. If you attend the University of Virginia, if that young lady's touched
your life in any way, you have the responsibility to help us find her. >> When Alexis was missing, I wanted the
whole world looking for her. >> Over the weekend, 1,200 volunteers covered 85% of the city, searching for
additional clues. >> This is probably one of the greatest coordinated search efforts in the
history of the Commonwealth. And now we have reason to believe she was inside of a bar on this mall with an
individual. >> Having done a little bit more investigating, that is when they started
learning the name Jesse Matthew Jr. >> Jesse Matthew was the last person she was seen with before she vanished off
the face of the earth. >> People have been trying to learn more about Jesse Matthew since they first
heard his name. >> They search his apartment. They seize his car. >> So certainly he is the focus of our
investigation. and they're they're coming out with evidence. >> Police say forensic evidence also
connects him to the death of Morgan Harrington. >> And I think that's when they started
thinking, could this be the same person? >> Several hours later, while police were
following Jesse Matthew, he took off from his grandmother's house >> and they lose him.
>> Excuse me. They lose him. >> They They really thought they had their suspect >> and he's gone.
>> We want to talk to Jesse Matthew. We want to talk about where Hannah Graham is.
>> I'm Susan Spencer. Tonight on 48 Hours, Hannah Graham, stalked by evil. The disappearance of Hannah Graham left
the audience across the country hungry for every detail on Twitter. >> September 21st, 2014, a week after
Hannah Graham went missing. And Jesse Matthew, the one person who may hold the key to her whereabouts, is missing as
well. Matthew was last seen Saturday speeding away from police who were following him.
>> I hope and pray that we might have an opportunity to talk Jesse Matthew again
cuz I think he can help us find Hannah Graham. >> It was tense. It was already tense and
it was even tenser cuz now we don't know where he is. >> WTVR reporter and 48 hours consultant
Laura French wasn't the only one speechless to learn that police had let their only suspect slip away. So Jesse
Matthew is gone. >> Jesse Matthew is gone. I even joked with one of the investigators and said, "You
guys really know where he is. You're watching him." >> Surely here are some serious accusations
against this individual. And you don't know where he is. He fled. And he fled far. Police have released this wanted
poster of Jesse Leroy Matthew. >> He is the last person that was with Hannah. So certainly he is the focus of
our investigation. Remarkably, 4 days after he fled, Jesse Matthew is spotted in, of all places, Galveastston, Texas,
on a near empty beach, 1300 miles from Charlottesville. >> Fast forward to September 24th. We have
a woman out on the beach looking just for a peaceful afternoon to watch the water.
>> That woman was Karen Monk. His tent was about right here, close to the grass,
and his car was parked on the other side. >> She's sitting in the back of her car,
and she sees this man in a tent, you know, few yards down from her, doesn't think much of it until he drives
by her. >> This car came in front of me and stopped. And the fellow that was sitting
in the driver's seat, his windows were down. He leans over and looks, kind of glares at me.
Monk suddenly found herself face to face with one of the most wanted men in the country.
>> When I looked up and I saw him, I mean, his facial features are unmistakable. I
just held my breath just hoping he would just keep going. Um, my heart literally probably stopped
beating because I knew that was him. >> You mean to tell me that she recognized him on the beach from a wanted poster
that she'd seen on television or what? >> From a mug shot. And she's like, "Okay,
do I leave because I'm probably in danger or do I stay here so I can tell police exactly where he is?"
>> She not only stayed, she called every law enforcement agency she could think of, finally getting a response from the
Galveastston County Sheriff's Office. They found Jesse Matthew on the beach and arrested him without incident.
>> How does she view what she did? >> She's very humble. She views it as being in the right place at the right time and
doing the right thing. >> We're here tonight to announce that Jesse Matthew was in custody in
Galveston, Texas. >> And apparently he had bigger travel plans than Texas. A map of Mexico was
found in his car. Now in custody, he was headed not south, but north back to Charlottesville, Virginia. He was locked
up in Galveston for 40ome hours. Charlottesville authorities came and flew him back here and they had him by
their side at all times. >> But Matthew quickly dashed any hope police had that he'd give them
information about Hannah Graham. >> He never cooperated with anybody as far as answering questions voluntarily.
>> Never has. >> Never has. >> We have a person in custody, but there's a long road ahead of us. And that long
road includes finding Hannah Graham. >> Now the search expanded out from Charlottesville and the university
campus here to the surrounding countryside. And despite the growing odds against this having a good outcome,
no one was giving up. In fact, the volunteers just kept on coming. >> I got three more for your team.
>> It wasn't clear whether she was alive or or dead at this point. prosecutor >> Neil Augenstein covered this story both
for WP radio and online. He's also a 48 hours consultant. >> As time went on, people were thinking
more and more that she probably had had died. >> This specialized team of trackers
searched for Hannah Graham on Friday afternoon. The team, which includes a navigator, a dog, and a handler, is
directing the dog off trail to find any trace of a human scent. Okay, >> nice job.
>> People wanted answers. People wanted closure. People wanted it now. >> But no one wanted the news that came on
October 18th, 35 days after Hannah disappeared. We're following a developing story out
of Albamarl County. Sometime before noon today, a search team from the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Department
was searching an abandoned property along Old Lynchburg Road in southern Alamoral County when they discovered
what appears to be human remains. >> Where the human remains were found was uh behind a home that nobody was living
in at the time. And this was within a few miles of a home where Jesse Matthew had grown up and spent time uh with his
family. >> How far was this from Charlottesville? >> Uh so this house was five, six, seven
miles out of downtown Charlottesville. >> What also intrigued investigators, the
site where Morgan Harrington's remains had been found four years earlier was only a few miles away.
With the discovery of Hannah's body, the community that had searched so long and
hard with John and Susan Graham now could only grieve with them. As a parent, my heart sank because it was
final. Their worst fears had come to light, but at the same time, they were able to bring her home.
>> The focus turns now to the suspect in custody and charged with her abduction,
32-year-old Jesse Matthew. The next challenge, building a solid case against Jesse Matthew. He wasn't
talking, but science was about to do the talking for him. >> I obtained a search warrant for Mr.
Matthews for his DNA. I have a lot of friends that go to UVA. My initial reaction was,
"How could this be?" After a month of vigils and hopes and prayers for Hannah Graham, the reality
of her murder was a horrific shock. >> This is our opportunity to create a silver
lining in the tremendous cloud that that that um Hannah's fate represented to us.
>> When it comes to these sort of girl gone missing stories, there's always this
barrier of ignorance where you don't know the person who's on the other side of the screen.
And I did this time. Hannah's friend, Llaya Nasser. It's something that's so overwhelming and so powerful and you
can't understand or fathom why anybody would do this. >> Law enforcement wanted to ask that very
question to Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. who now sat in jail formally charged with abduction with intent to defile Hannah
Graham. He was not charged with murder. >> People have been calling for the death
for Jesse Matthew before Hannah Graham's body was even found. This is showing the
power of Twitter and and not necessarily for good. Uh you know, people were convinced of his guilt.
>> While Matthew was behind bars in Charlottesville, a case a 100 miles away in Fairfax,
Virginia, ice cold for nearly 10 years was about to heat up. >> I was u getting ready to leave to go out
of town uh to to Georgia to a funeral. I was watching the video of Hannah Graham
going through the mall down there. >> Detective Michael Boon had never stopped working at unsolved rape case from 2005
involving the victim known only as RG. He'd had little to go on but the composite sketch of her rapist.
>> Hey, we're searching for Hannah. >> But then one day, he happened to glimpse news coverage of the Graham case. The
person Charlottesville police most want to question is this man, Jesse Matthew. >> I saw the picture of Jesse Matthews and
I saw the picture of the composite drawing. So, I mean, I knew they had the the right person.
>> You knew the second you saw his picture? >> Yeah. >> He had been looking at that composite
for almost 10 years, and his gut told him that without question, his rapist and Jesse Matthew were one and the same.
that Matthew's DNA would match the unidentified DNA in his rape case. So Boon gets a search warrant and speeds
off to Charlottesville to meet with his suspect. So you take this sample and what did you do with the sample?
>> I drove it to the Department of Forensic Science to the Citro Lab in Richmond.
>> A quick turnaround, got an answer in a week. >> So the word was look, you know, we need
this. >> Well, they knew they knew what we were dealing with. Yes. What' you think you
were dealing with? >> Very violent sexual offender. >> The results, a bombshell. Boon was
right. Jesse Matthews DNA matched that of the Fairfax rapist. >> I held out hope every year that he was
going to get identified. It's just like finally. >> But there was more. Because remember,
the rapist DNA matched DNA found on Morgan Harrington's t-shirt after her murder. Now, investigators knew whose
DNA it was. >> Breaking news. >> We were able to confirm today that Jesse Matthew Jr. has been linked. Forensic
evidence has linked him to the Morgan Harrington case from 2009. >> Wow. You broke this.
>> I did. We know that Jesse Matthew at some point made contact with Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington the
night she disappeared and three months later was later found murdered. That's what we do know. Doesn't mean he did
something. >> Fast forward to 2014 to Jesse Matthew and the Hannah Graham case. >> We know that police have forensic
evidence that places her with him. What that is, we don't know. >> We know she was with him.
She's on tape with him. >> But the question is, did she leave in his car? That's what's not been made public.
>> The key would be evidence showing what happened to Hannah after she was last seen at the restaurant with Matthew.
Police searched his car within days of her disappearance and will say only that no blood was found. the state has in its
um possession a digital record from a cell tower from Hannah Graham's phone. We also know that there's digital
records from her Facebook account, Skype, Snapchat, Twitter, all those different social media venues. But
there's about 50 plus search warrants. So half of those we don't know about. But on October 20th, 2014, two days
after Hannah Graham's remains were discovered, authorities indict Jesse Matthew. Not for Hannah's murder, nor
for Morgan's, but for the attempted capital murder, abduction, and sexual assault of the
anonymous RG back in 2005. Apparently feeling that the rape case was the strongest.
It was bittersweet news for Jill and Dan Harrington. Why have there been no charges filed in Morgan's case?
>> I think they're trying to they want to finish prosecuting the Fairfax case. >> So, you fully expect that there will be.
>> Uh, yes, I do. >> To show their support, the Harringtons will be front and center at Jesse
Matthews upcoming rape trial. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, prosecutors are scrambling to build a
solid case against Matthew for the murder of Hannah Graham. And pressure is building.
Suspected killer Jesse Matthew was safely behind bars, but each passing day brought the question
When would he be charged with Hannah Graham's murder? >> On Monday, February 2nd, 2015, Jesse
Matthew Jr. was indicted in Albam Marorrow County for abduction and murder of Hannah Graham.
>> It was 5 months after she vanished before prosecutors had the evidence they needed.
>> What we don't know is what they found in his apartment. We can report this much
though. In the second search of his apartment, police went in there for something very specific. And when asked
if they got what they went in there for, they said, "Yes, we did." Those details
presumably will come out in court. >> But relief that the Graham case was moving forward mixed with
disappointment, especially once again in the Twitter sphere. >> When Jesse Matthew was first charged
with first-degree murder, people were outraged. Why were they going to go for the death penalty?
>> Jesse Matthew Jr. was served that new indictment. >> That all changed three months later when
the Commonwealth attorney announced she would seek the death penalty. After all,
>> the Commonwealth received some additional forensic information in late February that led to this increase in
charge. >> Was upping the charges to capital murder a strategic move or was that based on
some bombshell evidence they may have had? >> They haven't told us. Charlottesville
attorney Lloyd Snook has been following the Graham case. >> Some other evidence, maybe there's some
DNA evidence that hadn't come back from the lab yet. In addition, there is a second analysis
and that is to weigh aggravating and mitigating circumstances. >> What would those be?
>> Well, that's a long way of saying that it was a really, really awful crime. Not
just awful because all murders are awful, but something really, really bad. I want to see what happens when evil
intersects with justice. >> Jill Harrington was at a pre-trial hearing in Hannah Graham's case the day
the change to the death penalty was announced. >> She supports the move. >> I really don't know what the
justification for changing the the charge is, but some bad things happened. Lives were lost.
As the years have gone by, her daughter's case has seemed to be stalled. Despite that t-shirt DNA
linking Matthew to Morgan, a trial for Morgan, we do want to have that day, but it really changes nothing in our lives.
Our lives are as empty. The pain that we'll have after a trial is the same pain that we have today.
>> By spring of 2015, Matthew faced two trials. for the murder of Hannah Graham and for the 2005 abduction, sexual
assault, and attempted capital murder of the woman known as RG. And questions were raised about a
Matthew connection to the Alexis Murphy case. Questions generated by attorneys for her convicted killer, Randy Taylor.
They demanded evidence be tested for Matthew's DNA just in case. >> We're fine with that. Let's say by the
off chance they do find Jesse Matthews DNA in her car. It just means that he was also involved. It doesn't make Randy
Taylor any less guilty than he is now. >> What do you think the the odds of that
are? >> Honestly, I think it's pretty slim. >> Trina Murphy, Alexis's aunt, was right.
No DNA link with Matthew was found. >> You Jesse Leroy Matthew Junior. >> Meanwhile, after nearly a decade, RG's
case was moving forward. attempt to kill RG in the commission >> with hearings. >> How do you plead to that charge?
>> Not guilty. >> And finally, in June 2015, a trial with Jesse Matthews fate depending on the DNA
and on testimony from the anonymous victim RG. >> She was hesitant. She was worried.
>> Commonwealth Attorney Ray Morrow. >> She is a very dignified woman from a different culture, very well educated, I
might say, brilliant. and she wanted her privacy, but at the same time, we tried
to make sure she had the opportunity to to get her voice heard. >> Since the rape, RG had moved back home
to Asia to a new life. Seeking justice meant not only traveling halfway around the world, but publicly reliving perhaps
the most terrifying moments of her life. What do you think the specific impact was on her?
>> The trauma. The trauma of it. It just so violent. >> Detective Boon had always kept in touch
with her, contacting RG with any news about the case. >> I picked her up at the airport. You
know, I hadn't seen her in such a long time. She was nervous. She's going to see him in court, and that's very
stressful for a victim. Very stressful. She did not want to be victimized again by some who might blame the victim. She
didn't want people around her to know about it and it she didn't want it to define her.
>> She did nothing wrong. >> No. No. Here we understand that. But some people don't.
>> And the composite sketch RG helped put together back in 2005 posed a problem.
The attack was at night. She was traumatized and predictably the defense insists that neither it nor an updated
version looks anything like Jesse Matthew. >> So going into this then you have the
sketch and you've got a victim. You don't know how she's going to testify, >> right?
>> You you're a little nervous as this starts. >> I try not to be nervous, but it's always
a risk to have a jury trial. I was concerned >> justifiably so. We're moving along
rather quickly, so that's a good thing. >> It was a move not many saw coming, including
>> the outcome of this trial. Like everything else in these tangled cases, would defy everyone's predictions.
>> I'm kind of reeling. This wasn't just a rape case. This was a rape case that was tied to the Hannah
Graham case. >> The trial of Jesse Matthew for attempted murder, abduction, and sexual assault
takes place in the shadow of the Hannah Graham case. Although unlike Hannah, this victim, known only as RG, does
survive. In June of 2015, she travels from her home in Asia here to Fairfax, Virginia for Matthew's trial, hoping to
help put him behind bars. And not just for herself. >> We thought about our victim in our case
and Hannah and Morgan pretty much every day from the day that we found out that this was our man. It strikes at your
heart, you know, as a as a father myself, but just as a human being. I mean, I can't think of anything worse
than attacking a woman or a child. Hopefully, we'll be out of court soon. And >> Commonwealth Attorney Ray Mura was happy
to have his case against Matthew go first, hoping to pave the way for future prosecutions for Hannah and for Morgan.
>> I think every bit of testimony that was heard in this case, you were listening
with the thought that could this somehow be related to these other cases. The judge allowed no cameras, but sketches
and Neil Augenstein's tweets painted a vivid picture. From the first moment RG walked into the courtroom,
>> this was the first time that she was in the same room with with Jesse Matthew in
10 years, I and everyone else in the courtroom was looking to see who was making eye contact with with who.
>> Did she ever look at him? I never once saw her look at Jesse Matthew. >> Did he look at her?
>> He looked at her the whole time. >> I think there was some expectation that at the trial she would sit there and go,
you know, that's him. >> Yeah, that was an issue, but she hadn't seen it in 10 years. So, I wasn't going
to press her on that. She came just a whisper from being murdered. And um there in the courtroom 20t from her sits
the man who who tried to murder her. In a hushed voice, RG testified about that horrible night, saying her attacker
picked her up from behind like a baby. And then she went on, "He put me on the ground and he sat on my legs and he
banged my head on the grass on the ground. He hit my face, beat me. I was screaming and yelling." I think at first
she was extremely nervous and admitted certain parts that she put in a part of her mind that she didn't want to bring
back out, but she knew she had to. I was punching him. I was trying to kick. He sealed my nose and my mouth with his
hands and he choked me. He was pulling my pants down. I was still struggling. >> She told the story she didn't seek
vengeance on the stand. He said, "I will kill you. If you scream again, I'll twist your neck. Let me do this. I'll
let you go." The nightmare only ended, she said, when he dragged her into a ditch and ran off. RG was a very good
witness. >> I didn't see anybody, but you know. >> Also testifying was Mark Castro, the
passer by who heard RG's cries that night. He found her confused and covered in blood. He got a neighbor to call 911
and stayed until the ambulance arrived. What did you feel was the most important
thing that you needed to get across to the jury? >> Uh her condition. It was not a uh just a
typical assault. This is attempted murder. She looked like somebody that was near dead.
>> You wanted to be sure they understood how badly hurt she was. >> That's right.
>> I'll look at the defendants to see if there's any emotion, expression. There wasn't any from him. Unlike RG, Michael
Boone did look Jesse Matthew in the eye as the lead detective testified about how he got the vitally important sample
of Matthew's DNA. >> I went through and explained to him how I collected it, put on gloves, and then
swabbed the inside of his mouth and uh took that back and submitted it to Department of Forensic Science.
>> DNA was pivotal to the trial. Experts testified that the sample from Matthew matched what was found under RG's
fingernail. >> How strong was the DNA evidence? What were the >> What were the numbers?
>> It was one in uh 7 billion that it could have been anyone else but the defendant.
So, one in greater than the world's population. >> One in seven billion is pretty clear.
>> That's a pretty good number. After two and a half days, the prosecution rested and attention turned
to the defense. >> The defense asked for a brief recess. The brief uh recess lasted longer and
longer. >> What are you thinking during all this? >> At first, I just thought they were
trying to decide what whether they were going to uh put on a defense or not. >> Then you see Jesse's family get taken in
the back. Then you see them go back and forth, but then you see prosecutors just
sitting there. So you're thinking there can't be a deal going on. Then you see his mom in tears. What's happening?
>> It was at that point that Neil Augenstein, who at over 6 feet tall, has a rather good vantage point, noticed
something else. >> I watched the the uh the prosecutors walking down the aisle. And I looked at
the paperwork. It said Alfred plate. So, I went on Twitter and started tweeting that the defense and prosecution were
handling uh printed copies of an Alfred plea. >> Neil's tweets broke the story that there
would be no jury verdict. Jesse Matthew would plead guilty, albeit a slightly qualified guilty.
>> They kind of threw the towel in on it. Made a decision to plead Alford, which
is a type of guilty plea where the defendant is allowed to say, "The evidence against me is overwhelming. I'm
pleading guilty, but I do not admit that I committed the crime. >> You did not offer this.
>> No, I never offered any plea agreement. You know, we wanted the jury to decide
it. >> The only thing that he's gaining by doing an offered plea here is not having
to look at his mother in the eye and say, "This is what I did." >> The plea stunned everyone, including
Jill Harrington, who attended the trial to show support. >> RG is one exceptional human being. I
applaud her courage and determination in finding her justice in this court building today.
>> The trial didn't end as expected, but the result was all that mattered. >> He's convicted, so we've done our job.
He's off the street. We gave him no breaks. This is a good thing. >> In the end, the judge gave Matthew the
maximum in this case, three life sentences. For RG, it was a difficult but triumphant trip.
And before flying home, she had some business to attend to with a man she had not seen since the night of the attack.
>> She said, "Thank you. I for saving my life." >> Did you say anything else to her?
>> I said, "You're welcome. I just did what I thought is the best thing to do." RG
also thanked Detective Boone, whose business card she kept in her wallet all these years.
>> We went back into a conference room and she pulled it out and she said, "I guess
I should give this back to you now." And I told her to keep it. >> The RG case was closed, but suddenly
justice for another victim was moving with shocking speed. >> In your heart, did you think you'd be
standing here today? Jesse. >> Yes. >> Reporters were stunned. >> He was sitting really close to the
Harrington family and looked right at them as he left the courtroom. They're coming out right now. I got to
go. Perhaps no one was more shocked than the Harringtons themselves at the Commonwealth attorney's blockbuster
announcement. >> Misindicted for first-degree murder and abduction with the intent to defile
Morgan Harrington. >> It has been such a long journey. >> The charges coming finally nearly 6
years after Morgan's death. It makes more real the fact that Morgan is dead and yes was murdered.
>> He needs to know that justice is coming. >> To drive the point home, the Harringtons
resolutely locked eyes with Jesse Matthew as he walked past them in court. I wanted him to see this is the face of
justice for Jesse Matthews because I've known and believed for some time that he
killed our Morgan. >> Trina Murphy is there for support. >> God bless you, Trina.
>> So sorry. >> The trial was set for October 2016 in the Harrington case. >> The maximum sentence in Harrington's
murder is life in prison. If convicted for Hannah Graham's murder, Jesse Matthew could face the death penalty.
>> The Hannah Graham murder trial was scheduled for July of 2016, a capital case with plenty of time for a plea.
>> He can plead at any time up until he's found guilty. >> What's he got to lose? He's facing the
death penalty. >> That's a hard call. I will say he's got some good lawyers. You know, I think
they'll fight it out. And with much of the evidence in the Hannah Graham case sealed, it's unclear
how strong a case the state really has. >> We don't know what the evidence is. And
they've actually been very careful in many ways to not put a lot of stuff out there.
>> Based on what you do know, would you be surprised if this ever went to trial?
>> Let's think about some of the the circumstantial evidence issues here. Okay. What we think we know is that they
were seen together, say 1:30 at night, the night that she was last seen. Supposing the defense argues there's no
evidence that he did anything to actually hurt her. That's a problem. >> Hannah's family has grieved in private,
leaving comments about the case to others. Hannah's coach, Craig Maniglia. They're strong and they will figure out
a way to get around this. They won't get over it, but they'll go forward. I can tell you that Grahams want justice,
>> as do friends like Llaya Nasser. >> When you send your kids to college, you send them there to chase their dreams.
Hannah didn't get that chance. Her last moments were at the mercy of a murderer monster.
Hannah's dreams were on everyone's mind this past summer when several of her UVA
classmates took to the mountains. Pausing on the majestic French Alps and the peaks of Tanzania to remember her.
>> We had dreamed of going to hike Mont Blanc talked about this >> 3800 me in the air.
>> So we figured in a symbolic measure we would do this bring her memorial there.
>> This was on Kilamanjaro. A simple tribute, says Alan Q, to an unquenchable spirit.
>> She loved hiking. She loved skiing. So I always imagine her skiing through the
clouds. >> Learning from these tragedies is of great importance to Jill Harrington.
>> I think we are at a critical time. There's a critical number of girls who have been killed or are missing from our
area. >> Never let a friend leave an adventure. >> I will check on friends. To increase
awareness, the Harringtons founded an organization, Help Save the Next Girl. >> We will help save the next girl.
>> Jill believes that what happened to Hannah, Morgan, Alexis, and RG hits close to home for many young women.
>> That's was always my intent was to save the next girl. Unfortunately, we couldn't save Hannah Graham.
>> Jill Harrington's crusade to protect young women continues. And as usual, Trina Murphy is at her side. From the
day we found your story while following the Hannah Graham story, we have not ceased to grieve and pray for you.
>> Alexis's body still has not been found. It's now become bigger than just Alexis.
And it's not about any one case or any one girl or guy. We have to unify. She is out there somewhere. And until we are
able to bring her home, we don't have any closure. >> It's been 720 days. 1,51,000
minutes since the last time we got to see her beautiful face. >> In August 2015, the Murphy's gathered
for the second anniversary of Alexis's disappearance. For her mother, it felt like yesterday.
>> Just getting started in life. >> Hi. >> I never got pictures. I always wanted to
see her dressed up to go to pro. >> I'll never see that. All right, guys. It's 7:16. RELEASE.
>> Families need to understand that you really have to work at keeping their story alive.
>> You just have to beat the drum and it's the only way that we're going to ever
affect change. >> This poem is called Metallic. Morgan Harrington's friend, Lindsay Crisp,
found her own way to keep memories alive. >> See, she was supposed to be at a Metallica concert.
>> In a raw and emotional piece, she wrote and shared at an open mic event. >> Do not let your girlfriends go out
alone. >> A few days after her video hit social media, Lindsay was reunited with Jill
Harrington. >> Love you so much. I'm sorry it came to this, sweetie. on the Copley Bridge for
the first time since Morgan's death. >> Last place where she was of her own valition. It's become kind of a memorial
spot for us. >> So now the bridge is full of color and pictures and a sign that says justice.
It felt good to be able to do something for her. And on the sidewalk, words of thanks to RG, the anonymous rape victim
whose testimony and courage helped take a predator off the streets. >> She's the one that got away. And I'm
sure she didn't feel like the lucky one, but thank God she did. >> She is the hero. I mean, she came back
from far, far away and relive this thing. She didn't have to do it, but at the end of the day, this was something
she had to do for the next woman. and also for herself as a woman. And we're all just so proud of her.
>> But for those left behind without resolution, memories are tinged with heartache and with questions of what
might have been. >> I really sort of thought Morgan would be an artist. >> I mean, she was just chucka block full
of potential. I mean, she could just roll out of bed and be gorgeous. Loved to laugh. She was really, really
funny. >> She achieved everything she could at the highest level she could achieve it.
>> She was very smiley and silly, too, which is what I want people to remember most of all. This warm, sunny, smiley
girl full of life. We start tonight with breaking news in the Jesse Matthew case. A plea agreement
reached on March 2nd, 2016, just a few months before the Hannah Graham murder trial
was to begin. Jesse Matthew accepted a deal. >> Today, Jesse Matthew Jr. plead guilty to
the first-degree murder of Hannah Graham. guilty to the first-degree murder of Morgan Harrington.
>> In exchange for pleading guilty, Matthew no longer faced the death penalty. He
will serve four consecutive life terms with no possibility of ever being released. Both the Harrington and the
Graham families supported the plea agreement. >> I would say the primary emotion is
relief. Um, finding justice for Morgan has been a burden on our family for six and a half years.
>> Today's events do not bring Hannah back to us. Of course, we miss her every day.
At times like this, one has to draw comfort where one can >> after the announcement. The Harringtons
returned to the Copley Bridge. This time to tie green ribbons on the railings as a symbol of new growth and
going forward. Jill said it would be their final visit to the bridge where Morgan was last
seen. >> You don't get over your daughter being murdered, but you can get past it and we
want to do that. >> Hannah's enduring gift to us all is that she enabled this wicked man to be
apprehended and convicted. She did change the world, but at a terrible price.

"48 Hours" goes inside the investigation of the death of UVA student Hannah Graham, the evidence that links one man to three horrific crimes, and now, his punishment. "48 Hours" correspondent Susan Spencer reports in this two-part episode from June 2016. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Hannah Graham's disappearance leads to a massive search, connections to other cases, and Jesse Matthew's eventual guilty plea for her murder.

Key points

Community Outrage and Search Efforts. The disappearance outraged the community, leading to extensive search efforts and social media engagement.
The Disappearance of Hannah Graham. Hannah Graham, an 18-year-old student, went missing in Charlottesville, sparking a massive search effort.
Tragic Connections. Trina Murphy, whose niece Alexis is missing, empathizes with the Grahams.
Community Unites for Hannah Graham. The Charlottesville community rallies together to search for missing student Hannah Graham.
Jesse Matthew's Disappearance. The prime suspect in Hannah Graham's case evades police during a tense manhunt.
The Search Expands. Authorities ramp up efforts to find both Hannah Graham and Jesse Matthew.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You make things good, Hannah Graham.

A friend's emotional message about Hannah.

4:43WatchJul 9, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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