John Matthews
WMAL.com
FAIRFAX — (WMAL) Jesse Matthew, the man charged with last year’s murder of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham in Charlottesville, will be in court in Fairfax County today for a pre-trial hearing in another case – the 2005 sexual assault of a woman in Fairfax City.
The alleged victim, now 36 years old, has been flown in from India, where she now lives, to face Matthew and to testify against him. Matthew’s attorneys have filed a motion seeking to bar the media from being in the courtroom to hear the woman’s testimony, but former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova told WMAL that request is not likely to be granted.
“It’s almost never done because the Constitution provides for a public trial,” said DiGenova, who added, “From what I can tell, there’s no basis for closing this hearing whatsoever.”
Deputy Public Defender Dawn Butorac wrote in a motion that media coverage of the hearing Thursday would “annihilate” Matthew’s right to a fair trial, and would eliminate any chance of seating an impartial jury in the case.
The defense is also expected to ask that the woman not be allowed to identify Matthew as her attacker, given that it’s been nine years since the incident was reported. DiGenova says that is a pretty standard motion that will also likely be denied.
“Because he has been identified through DNA, the defense is doing everything it can to keep out other evidence which would confirm thatm, but when you have DNA evidence in a case, it pretty much wraps it up.
Matthew’s trial is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Police)
