Prosecutors said Tuesday they will seek the death penalty against Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., the college operating room technician charged with kidnapping and killing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham last September.
An Albemarle County, Virginia, judge set a hearing for June 25 for Matthew, 33, the last person seen with Graham, 18, who disappeared after a night out with friends last September.
Before she vanished, she texted a friend at 1 a.m. that she was lost. Her remains were found Oct. 18, less than 10 miles from where she’d last been seen alive.
“The commonwealth received some additional information in late February that led to this increased charge,” Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford told reporters after the hearing. “If I didn’t believe that this case were worthy of a capital charge, I wouldn’t believe that Mr. Matthew were someone that would be appropriate for this ultimate penalty.”
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