Attorney Wants Hannah Graham Abduction Suspect Evaluated for Sanity

An attorney for Jesse L. Matthew Jr., the man accused of kidnapping University of Virginia student Hannah Graham in September, has issued a request that his client undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Attorney James Camblos made the request at an arraignment Friday in Fairfax County Circuit Court, where Matthew is charged in connection with a 2005 Fairfax County sexual assault.

Matthew was indicted earlier this month on charges of attempted capital murder, abduction with intent to defile, and sexual penetration with an object for the alleged sexual assault of a 26-year-old female victim who was walking home from a supermarket in Fairfax.

DNA evidence from the 2005 assault linked the case to the 2009 disappearance of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington. Fairfax authorities later matched forensic evidence from the Harrington case to Graham’s abduction, leading to Matthew’s arrest.

Matthew was arrested Sept. 23 in Texas, 10 days after the disappearance of 18-year-old Hannah Graham. He is currently being held without bond at the Albermarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail on charges of kidnapping Graham in the early-morning hours of Sept. 13.

Graham’s remains were found Oct. 18 in an abandoned property in Albermarle County, according to the Albemarle County Police Department.

If convicted of the Fairfax case, Matthew could face up to three life sentences without parole.

Image: Jesse L. Matthew Jr., 32, of Charlottesville. Patch file photo.