“In the interest of protecting the integrity of the judicial process”, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Tracci said in a written statement, “our office is unable to provide any additional details as to the specific details of the plea agreement, or any other information related to the case, at this time”.
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Matthew, from Virginia, said he was sorry through his attorney at Albemarle County Circuit Court.
Graham’s father, John, said many people thought his daughter would change the world. “Matthew’s deeds show that he is far too risky ever to be allowed to be free”. Matthew was charged with her murder about five months later.
She also said that although she plans on moving forward, she will never fully understand why events happened the way they did.
“We can not comprehend the selfish and inhumane action that took place that evening and we anguish over the suffering Morgan experienced that night”, Ms Harrington’s father, Daniel, said in court. He said his family has felt the pain of Morgan’s murder “every second of every day in the past six-and-a-half years since that wicked act occurred”. We struggle to proceed in a world that has gone gray, flat, and is devoid of joy. The brutality and intentionality of Morgan’s murder pierces our every day, and will continue to do so until we join her.
Matthew grabbed one woman’s bare foot over her objections after she took off her boots because her feet were hurting, the statement says, adding that she would have testified that Matthew told her: “A woman who takes care of her feet takes care of everything else”.
The parents of both Graham and Harrington were in the courtroom when the pleas were entered.
Ms Graham, an 18-year-old University of Virginia student, was last seen in Charlottesville’s downtown pedestrian mall in September 2014. Matthew was charged with First Degree Murder and Abduction with Intent to Defile. Tips led police to suspect Matthew who fled after initial questioning. DNA evidence collected from Matthew during last year’s investigation of Graham’s disappearance linked him to the Fairfax case, which had been unsolved.
Ms Harrington went missing after seeing Metallica on October 17 2009. Hannah enabled police to capture a predator who had been “hiding in plain sight in Charlottesville for years”, her mother said. Her remains were discovered on a nearby farm in January 2010.
Graham’s mother, Susan Graham, described her daughter as “the most optimistic person we know” and said she misses her daughter’s smile, her quick wit and snuggling up with her on the couch with a cup of tea and a favorite DVD.
Witnesses would have testified at trial that they saw her near where a taxi driver matching Matthew’s description was working that night.
Matthew, given a chance to speak in court, asked his lawyer to speak for him.
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Matthew entered an Alford plea in that case, meaning he didn’t admit guilt but acknowledged that the prosecutors had enough evidence to secure a conviction.
