John Matthews
WMAL.com
FAIRFAX, VA – (WMAL) Jesse Matthew will possibly face the death penalty when he’s tried for the 2014 murder of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham in Charlottesville. But before that sensationalized case can be heard, he’ll stand before judge and jury in Fairfax County for a 2005 kidnapping and sexual assault in a trail that gets underway Monday.
Matthew is accused of grabbing a woman who was walking home from a grocery store in Fairfax City. The 36-year-old alleged victim has been flown in from India, where she lives now, to testify against Matthew. Prosecutors say they also have DNA evidence linking Matthew to the woman.
Fairfax County Circuit Court judge David Schell turned down a defense motion last week that would have barred the woman from naming Matthew as her attacker. The defense has argued that the woman could not credibly identify Matthew a decade after the crime was committed, but in explaining his ruling, Schell cited a 2012 case in which the Supreme Court found it’s up to the jury to determine the credibility of the witness and her identification.
Matthew is charged with attempted capital murder, abduction with intent to defile and sexual penetration with an object.
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