Jesse Matthew court hearing in Hannah Graham case postponed
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Version 0 of 1. A Tuesday court hearing for the man charged in the death of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham has been postponed. Jesse L. Matthew Jr., 33, had been set to appear in Charlottesville court for the first time since he was sentenced to three life terms in Fairfax County. In the Fairfax case, Matthew was sentenced to life in prison on three counts related to a 2005 sex assault that left the victim bloodied and clinging to life. [Jesse Matthew gets 3 life terms for ‘brutal’ Fairfax sex assault] That Matthew received the maximum punishment ensures he will at the very least spend the rest of his life in prison regardless of the outcome of two remaining cases against him in Charlottesville. He faces the possibility of the death penalty in the 2014 slaying and disappearance of Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore from Fairfax. He is also charged in the 2009 death of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, 20, who went missing during a concert in Charlottesville. [Murder suspect appeared to shake tough upbringing, but came undone] But the fates of both cases in Albemarle County court now appear unsure after prosecutor Denise Lunsford lost her election as the incumbent last week at the polls. The tight race was decided by 510 votes. The new prosecutor, former special assistant U.S. attorney Robert Tracci, takes office in January, and it is not clear how his election will affect the two cases against Matthew. |