The Friday decision was delivered by a judge following an Alford plea entered by Matthew, who plead guilty in the face of overwhelming incriminating evidence against him while maintaining his innocence.
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It goes on to say, that “despite all of this, Mr. Matthew became a well-recognized athlete in his community, graduated high school, attended college, and has consistently maintained employment in order to provide for himself and his family” and that he has “sustained lifelong friendships”.
DNA evidence collected from Matthew during last year’s investigation into Graham’s disappearance linked him to the Fairfax County case. The judge ordered the sentences to be served consecutively. She refused to move as deputies tried to take her from the courtroom.
In this September 30, 2015 filephoto, Jesse Matthew is escorted…
In the sentencing, Judge David Schell said Matthew’s attack was vicious and brutal and the victim suffered severely.
Morrogh said Matthew’s unwillingness to accept responsibility, combined with his willingness to make his victim relive the ordeal by testifying in a public trial, is emblematic of his selfishness. “He seeks empathy, but he is heartless”, Morrogh said. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the Graham case and the trial has been set for July 2016.
Matthew is charged with capital murder for the death of 18-year-old Hannah Graham a year ago, and the first-degree murder of 20-year-old Morgan Harrington in 2009.
Matthew was also recently charged with Harrington’s murder.
Gil Harrington, the mother of Morgan Harrington, was in the courtroom for the sentencing.
Both Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington were found dead in the Charlottesville area after going missing.
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But the prosecutor in the trial Ray Morrogh, who argued for the life sentence, asked for those to be ignored. She said she fought back as he beat her and sexually assaulted her, many media outlets reported.
