Donnie Wahlberg's Very Scary People delves into twisted crimes and investigates the background, possible motives, psyche, and investigations of the criminals.
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What was meant to be a fun night out with friends, soon turned into a twisted and tragic tale of 18-year-old Hannah Graham’s disappearance and murder. The college student, who had moved to the US at six years old and studied at the University of Virginia, was abducted and killed in September 2014.
Hannah disappeared after a night out in Charlottesville, Virginia and was last seen in a local downtown mall. The body of the teen was later dumped and found five weeks after her abduction at an abandoned property near Albemarle County.
This article will delve into what happened to Hannah and how her murderer Jesse Matthew was brought to justice.
Who is Jesse Matthew?
At 1:20am on the night she disappeared, Hannah messaged friends saying she had left one party, was headed to another, but was lost and unsure of her location. Later, surveillance footage showed her at Tempo Restaurant with Jesse Matthew, who was eventually identified as her killer.
According to a witness who saw Matthew with his arm around Hannah, the victim was in a vulnerable state after drinking too much. The witness later told authorities that the man she was with ‘did not look friendly.’ She also heard the victim say to her killer, 'I’m not getting in the car with you', as the pair were standing by Matthew’s 1998 Chrysler Sebring.
32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr, aka ‘LJ’, had already been accused twice of sexual assault at both Christopher Newport University and Liberty University in Lynchburg. He left each school swiftly after each allegation was reported. Although authorities investigated the report, neither incident brought a criminal case against him.
The search for Hannah
A volunteer search for the missing teen commenced on 20th September, with over 1,000 people out looking for her. It started in Charlottesville as the Charlottesville Police Chief believed she would be there, or in one of the surrounding nine counties. Local property owners were asked to explore their land for Hannah, two more search teams were later arranged spanning over 44 hours in search time across six days.
It wasn’t until 18th October that Hannah’s remains were found at the property In Albemarle County. Although she wasn’t formally identified immediately, the teen’s parents were informed of what was found. Later that month, it was confirmed via DNA and dental records that the remains were Hannah’s.
Hannah’s death
It was concluded that Hannah's cause of death was homicidal violence of undetermined etiology. This means that the precise cause is not clear, however the fact the assailant unlawfully killed her was.
In December 2014, Hannah’s remains were flown home to Harrogate in the UK for her funeral and cremation.
The arrest and sentencing
Matthew was identified as a person of interest shortly after Hannah was reported missing, due to witness statements and information provided on the killer’s violent past. Police searched his car and apartment to discover evidence of his involvement. The next day they brought him in for further questioning.
A few days later they searched his apartment again, and this time they took some of his clothing for testing. The police identified this search as a breakthrough in the case, although they did not divulge what evidence the clothing had brought.
Matthew was eventually charged with reckless driving which then led to charges of abduction. He was convicted and given four concurrent life sentences – this included the death of another college student, Morgan Harrington, who he admitted to killing in 2009.
Courts were advised that Matthew 'dumped Hannah’s body like trash' setting a chilling scene of the harrowing events that occurred.
In memory of Hannah
Students at the University of Virginia, where Hannah was studying, decided to erect a memorial on the grounds of the college in the late teen’s honour. The World Bank where Hannah’s father worked also holds a yearly award for innovations to reduce gender-based violence. As well as this award, a memorial scholarship was also set up in 2021 in honour of Ms Graham’s softball participation in North Virginia.
