Jesse Matthew appeared in Albemarle County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon. He was appointed counsel after being charged Tuesday with first-degree murder of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.
Matthew will use the same defense counsel in both the Harrington case and in the case of late University student Hannah Graham, for which Matthew faces charges of capital murder.
Both cases also include charges of abduction with intent to defile .
Virginia Capital Defender Douglas Ramseur and Michael Hemenway, a private attorney in Charlottesville, will defend Matthew.
The lead prosecutor in both cases, Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford, said the cases will be tried separately. There are currently no plans to upgrade the charges in the Harrington case to capital murder, she said.
Harrington disappeared from a Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena Oct. 17, 2009. Graham, who disappeared almost exactly one year ago, was last seen on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall in the early hours of Sept. 13, 2014.
Gil Harrington, Morgan Harrington’s mother, was present at the hearing. She said she has no doubt that Matthew is her daughter’s killer.
“I have known and believed for some time that he killed our Morgan,” Harrington said.
The prosecution has not offered an explanation for the timing of the charge against Matthew in Harrington’s case.
Gil Harrington said she does not have any information about such behind-the-scenes considerations.
“In a way it makes it more real that Morgan is dead, and was murdered,” Harrington said. “We have lost so much, but we have received blessings and love in equal measure.”
A status hearing date for both the Graham case and the Harrington case is set for Sept. 30.
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