Jesse Matthew pleads guilty to murder and abduction
He has received four life sentences
Jesse Matthew has pleaded guilty to the murder and abduction of Hannah Graham and the murder and abduction of Morgan Harrington.
He has received four consecutive life sentences. He is not eligible for appeal or geriatric release.
This is in addition to the three life sentences he is already serving for being found guilty of sexual assault and attempted murder of a woman in Fairfax.
By pleading guilty, Matthew has avoided a possible death sentence.
Gil and Dan Harrington, Morgan Harrington’s parents, addressed the court.
Mr. Harrington said, “Since the Sunday when I notified the University of Virginia that Morgan was missing, our family has felt the pain of this loss acutely, every second, of every day in the 6.5 years since that wicked act occurred.
“We cannot comprehend the selfish and inhumane action that took place that evening and we anguish over the suffering Morgan experience that night. We have seen Morgan’s broken bones and cannot comprehend what one human could have so desperately needed to have hurt and murdered our daughter.”