While investigators wait on analysis on the human remains believed to be Hannah Graham's, the lead suspect in her disappearance is now linked forensically to a sexual assault case in 2005.
According to USA Today, Jesse Leroy "LJ" Matthew was indicted Monday on charges related to a rape case in Fairfax, Va. from 2005. Police said there is forensic evidence in that case that links him to the sexual assault.Graham disappeared early in the morning on Sept. 13 and the search effort since has been tireless. The remains police found Saturday afternoon have a few strong indicators that they are Graham's, but investigators are awaiting forensic analysis.
Matthew was the last person seen with Graham and he is currently being held without bail on the charge of abduction with the intent to defile. As part of his felony charge, Matthew was required by state law to surrender a DNA sample.
According to ABC News, Matthew's attorney, Jim Camblos, did not comment on the indictment, but acknowledged the break in Graham's case.
"It is my understanding that the remains found on the abandoned property in southern Albemarle County have been sent to the medical examiner for positive identification," he said in a statement Sunday.
The remains found Saturday were not buried, Sgt. Dale Terry, of the Chesterfield Sheriff's Department, told CNN. They were behind an abandoned house scattered about in a dried creek bed. Among the remains was a pair of pants like the ones Graham was last seen in and the vertebrate bone belonged to a tall person. Graham was five-foot-11.
The remains were just eight miles from where Graham was last seen and they were about six miles from where Morgan Harrington's body turned up in 2010. A Virginia Tech student, Harrington went missing in Oct. 2009 and her body turned up about three months later.
Matthew was linked forensically to that case as well.
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