CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ― Police say they have captured the man charged in the disappearance of a University of Virginia student.
Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo said Wednesday that 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. is in custody in Galveston, Texas. Matthew is charged with abduction with intent to defile in the case of 18-year-old Hannah Graham, who has been missing since Sept. 13.
Police had been looking for Matthew since Sept. 20, when he sped away from officers who had him under surveillance after he left the Charlottesville police station. He had gone there with his mother and uncle to ask for a lawyer after police searched his car and apartment and said they wanted to question him about Graham’s disappearance.
Graham vanished after leaving an off-campus party alone. Police believe Matthew was the last person seen with Graham, and obtained a felony warrant for his arrest late Tuesday. It’s not clear whether the longtime area resident knew Graham, who was last seen in an area lined with shops and restaurants where police believe she went into a bar with him.
The case has spread fear through the quiet community about 70 miles west of Richmond. Authorities have increased patrols and a late-night transportation program for students, who also have begun walking in pairs at night and are paying closer attention to their surroundings.
While police continued searching for Graham and struggled to make sense of what led to her disappearance, a vigil was scheduled Wednesday evening at her alma mater, West Potomac High School in northern Virginia. Graham was an alpine skier and alto saxophone player who had earned straight A’s six years in a row, according to family members and police.
According to police, Graham met friends at a restaurant for dinner on Sept. 12 before stopping by two parties at off-campus housing units. She left the second party alone, police have said, and sent a text message to a friend saying she was lost.
