Hannah Graham Searchers Return to Jesse Matthew's Apartment

ByMEGHAN KENEALLY ABCNews logo
Tuesday, September 23, 2014

A new warrant was issued today to carry out a second search of the apartment belonging to a man who police say was the last person to be seen with missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham.

Charlottesville police carrying out the search were seen today at the apartment of Jesse Matthew. They also released a wanted poster for Matthew, saying that he may be in possession of his sister's car. They said that he has known associates in Washington D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York in addition to his home state of Virginia.

Matthew, 32, has been described by Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo as the last person who was seen with Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore at the school who vanished more than a week ago.

Matthew is not charged in connection with Graham's disappearance, but after speeding driving away from a police station on Sunday cops issued a warrant for his arrest for dangerous driving.

According to public records, Matthew was involved in 22 incidents between 1999 and 2007, the majority of which were related to some kind of traffic violations ranging from failure to wear a seatbelt to failure to yield or obey stop signs. He was found guilty in six of those incidents, guilty in absentia in nine cases, prepaid dismissal in five, not guilty or acquitted in one and an undetermined verdict in another.

Arrest Warrant Issued for Missing Student Person of Interest Traffic Violation

Hundreds of Volunteers Join Search for Missing UVa Student Hannah Graham

Matthew is a nursing assistant at the University of Virginia Health System, according to the Associated Press. Calls to the hospital were not returned.

Matthew's car, a burnt orange 1998 Chrysler coupe, has been seized by police. Police have also previously searched Matthew's apartment and served a search warrant for his phone.

The last images of Graham were caught on store surveillance cameras which police said show the student with Matthew, described by police as being 6-foot-2, 270 pounds and with dreadlocks. Graham and a man police say was Matthew were recorded by surveillance cameras as they entered and left two establishments.

"I believe Jesse Matthew was the last person she was seen with Hannah before she vanished off the face of the Earth because it's been a week and we can't find her," Longo said.

The chief has reiterated that police are not calling Matthew a suspect, just someone who could have useful information about what happened to Graham.

Matthew has updated his Facebook profile and replaced his profile picture with a blacked-out square. There are no other personal posts on the page.

Related Topics