Express
May 8, 2015
Hannah Graham, 18, disappeared after a night out with friends.
Her last communication was a text message to a friend saying she was “lost” at around 1am.
The remains of her body were found nearby at a remote farm near Charlottesville, Virginia, last October.
The indictment accuses Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., 33, of capital murder in the death of Hannah and is based on new forensic evidence.
The state prosecutor said she will be seeking the death penalty during the court case which starts next month.
Matthew, a former hospital worker and taxi driver, was shackled and handcuffed at a brief hearing this week.
Attorney Denise Lunsford said that new forensic evidence was a crucial factor in her pursuing a death penalty case.
The exact cause of Hannah’s death in unknown. She moved to the US with her British parents Sue and John at the age of five.
She was last seen in September after a night out with friends on CCTV being followed by Matthew.
It led police to name him as a “person of interest” in the days after her disappearance.