Violence Against Women Along Route 29
September 29, 2014 12:09 PM Subscribe
UVA Hospital employee and former Charlottesville cab driver Jesse Matthew has just been linked to the September 2014 disappearance of UVA student Hannah Graham, the unsolved rape and murder of Morgan Harrington, whose body was discovered on a farm outside of Charlottesville in 2010, and a 2005 sexual assault in Fairfax, VA. Graham and Harrison are two of a number of women who have gone missing near Charlottesville in recent years.
Hannah Graham has been missing from Charlottesville, Virginia, home to the University of Virginia, since September 13. The last known sighting of Graham is video footage of her with Jesse "LJ" Matthew, an operating room technician at UVA Hospital who previously worked as a driver for Yellow Cab company. After initially meeting with police, Matthew fled to Galveston, TX, where he was arrested for "abduction with intent to defile" Graham.
Forensic evidence police recovered from Matthew has now tied him to the unsolved rape and murder of Morgan Harrington, who disappeared from Charlottesville in 2009 after inadvertently becoming locked out of a Metallica concert at UVA's John Paul Jones arena. The killer in the Harrington case, in turn, is linked to an earlier unsolved sexual assault in Fairfax, Virginia in 2005. In 2002, Matthew was reportedly asked to leave Liberty University in Lynchberg, at which he played on the football team, for the alleged rape of a fellow student.
The Charlottesville area was also recently home to a serial rapist, Toni Washington, a butcher at the local Harris Teeter who raped at least seven women from 1997 to his arrest in 2009, and Randy Taylor, currently imprisoned for the murder of Alexis Murphy, whose body was never recovered. Taylor is also a leading suspect in the unsolved murder of Samantha Clark. (Police have firmly denied any link between Graham's disappearance and the deaths of Murphy and Clark after some theorized that Graham's possible killer, rather than Taylor, could have been responsible for Murphy and Clark's deaths.) In May 2010, UVA student George Huguely murdered his girlfriend, fellow UVA student Yeardley Love. A 2009 study by the school found that 33 percent of sorority women were sexually assaulted during their time at UVA.
Graham's case has also brought attention to other missing women from Virginia, including Dashad "Sage" Laquinn Smith, who vanished from Charlottesville in 2012 and has also never been found. In 1996, Alice Reynolds went missing near Culpepper, Virginia and was never found; her presumed killer, who has never been identified, was dubbed the Route 29 Stalker due to numerous reports from women around the same time Reynolds disappeared that a white man in a pickup truck had attempted to flag them down along Route 29. Anne Carolyn McDaniel was killed near Orange, Virginia the same year; her killer also remains at large. Some suspect serial killer Richard Marc Evonitz of both crimes, in addition to a host of other deaths of young women.
Police continue to search for Hannah Graham. At least two unrelated sexual assaults occurred in Charlottesville the weekend after Graham's disappearance. This past weekend, UVA students rallied against gender-based violence at the school and in the larger community.
Hannah Graham has been missing from Charlottesville, Virginia, home to the University of Virginia, since September 13. The last known sighting of Graham is video footage of her with Jesse "LJ" Matthew, an operating room technician at UVA Hospital who previously worked as a driver for Yellow Cab company. After initially meeting with police, Matthew fled to Galveston, TX, where he was arrested for "abduction with intent to defile" Graham.
Forensic evidence police recovered from Matthew has now tied him to the unsolved rape and murder of Morgan Harrington, who disappeared from Charlottesville in 2009 after inadvertently becoming locked out of a Metallica concert at UVA's John Paul Jones arena. The killer in the Harrington case, in turn, is linked to an earlier unsolved sexual assault in Fairfax, Virginia in 2005. In 2002, Matthew was reportedly asked to leave Liberty University in Lynchberg, at which he played on the football team, for the alleged rape of a fellow student.
The Charlottesville area was also recently home to a serial rapist, Toni Washington, a butcher at the local Harris Teeter who raped at least seven women from 1997 to his arrest in 2009, and Randy Taylor, currently imprisoned for the murder of Alexis Murphy, whose body was never recovered. Taylor is also a leading suspect in the unsolved murder of Samantha Clark. (Police have firmly denied any link between Graham's disappearance and the deaths of Murphy and Clark after some theorized that Graham's possible killer, rather than Taylor, could have been responsible for Murphy and Clark's deaths.) In May 2010, UVA student George Huguely murdered his girlfriend, fellow UVA student Yeardley Love. A 2009 study by the school found that 33 percent of sorority women were sexually assaulted during their time at UVA.
Graham's case has also brought attention to other missing women from Virginia, including Dashad "Sage" Laquinn Smith, who vanished from Charlottesville in 2012 and has also never been found. In 1996, Alice Reynolds went missing near Culpepper, Virginia and was never found; her presumed killer, who has never been identified, was dubbed the Route 29 Stalker due to numerous reports from women around the same time Reynolds disappeared that a white man in a pickup truck had attempted to flag them down along Route 29. Anne Carolyn McDaniel was killed near Orange, Virginia the same year; her killer also remains at large. Some suspect serial killer Richard Marc Evonitz of both crimes, in addition to a host of other deaths of young women.
Police continue to search for Hannah Graham. At least two unrelated sexual assaults occurred in Charlottesville the weekend after Graham's disappearance. This past weekend, UVA students rallied against gender-based violence at the school and in the larger community.
The Charlottesville news stations have been using the hash tags #hannahgraham and #findhannahgraham on their tweets if you want to see the up to date info.
Here is a tweet with a statement from the Harrington family:
JUST IN: From Dan Harrington on #JesseMatthew link: "We're relieved in one sense, but very sad in another as it's taken another tragedy.."
posted by 724A at 12:35 PM on September 29, 2014
Here is a tweet with a statement from the Harrington family:
JUST IN: From Dan Harrington on #JesseMatthew link: "We're relieved in one sense, but very sad in another as it's taken another tragedy.."
posted by 724A at 12:35 PM on September 29, 2014
Why did Matthews go to the police station with his mother and uncle before he ran off to Texas? I guess he could have done kidnapped her but that's pretty weird.
Whole thing reminds me of the unsolved Lauren Spierer case. That's been 3 or 4 years now that the girl went missing from IU Bloomington.
posted by discopolo at 12:40 PM on September 29, 2014
Whole thing reminds me of the unsolved Lauren Spierer case. That's been 3 or 4 years now that the girl went missing from IU Bloomington.
posted by discopolo at 12:40 PM on September 29, 2014
It was reported that he went to the police station to ask for a lawyer and to tell them he had nothing to say to them until he had a lawyer. He was getting badgered via press conference to cooperate. It also helped him when he got apprehended in Galveston. The police could not question him on the plane ride back.
There are many similarities to the Spierer case. Both college towns. Both girls with diminished capacity to make decisions. In the Spierer case, she was last seen with people who were supposedly her friends. However, at best these friends let her leave their apartment to walk home alone late at night while clearly drunk or at worst, are actually responsible for her demise. Lauren's parents are pursuing civil cases against the boys so that they can get their testimony in depositions. No one has been charged in Lauren's case.
posted by 724A at 12:48 PM on September 29, 2014
There are many similarities to the Spierer case. Both college towns. Both girls with diminished capacity to make decisions. In the Spierer case, she was last seen with people who were supposedly her friends. However, at best these friends let her leave their apartment to walk home alone late at night while clearly drunk or at worst, are actually responsible for her demise. Lauren's parents are pursuing civil cases against the boys so that they can get their testimony in depositions. No one has been charged in Lauren's case.
posted by 724A at 12:48 PM on September 29, 2014
Yes, this is a small thing in comparison to probable murder, but I just cannot get over how fucking gross "defile" as a synonym for "rape" is.
posted by ostro at 12:58 PM on September 29, 2014 [22 favorites]
posted by ostro at 12:58 PM on September 29, 2014 [22 favorites]
These are facts all too familiar and too common. This is as good a place as any to remind people to share facts that might lead to the solving of the murder of Tammy Jo Zywicki.
In brief:
On Sunday, August 23, 1992, Tammy J. Zywicki, a 21-year-old Grinnell College student, departed Evanston, Illinois, to return to school in Grinnell, Iowa, where she was expected to arrive that evening. Later that day, Zywicki’s car — a 1985 Pontiac T1000 with New Jersey license plates — was found by an Illinois State Trooper and ticketed as being abandoned. On August 24, 1992, Illinois State Police towed the vehicle. That same evening, Zywicki’s mother contacted the Illinois State Police and advised them that her daughter had not arrived at college.
On September 1, 1992, Zywicki’s body was located along Interstate Highway 44 (I-44) in rural Lawrence County, Missouri, which is located between Springfield and Joplin, Missouri. She was wrapped in a red blanket bound with duct tape, had been sexually assaulted and stabbed eight times — once in the arm and seven times in the chest.
The petite blonde female was reportedly last seen with her car at mile marker 83 in central Illinois between 3:10 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on August 23, 1992. It was also reported that a tractor-trailer was seen near Zywicki’s vehicle during this time period. Some of the victim’s personal property was missing, including a Cannon 35mm camera and a musical wrist watch with an umbrella on the face.
posted by Muddler at 1:10 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
In brief:
On Sunday, August 23, 1992, Tammy J. Zywicki, a 21-year-old Grinnell College student, departed Evanston, Illinois, to return to school in Grinnell, Iowa, where she was expected to arrive that evening. Later that day, Zywicki’s car — a 1985 Pontiac T1000 with New Jersey license plates — was found by an Illinois State Trooper and ticketed as being abandoned. On August 24, 1992, Illinois State Police towed the vehicle. That same evening, Zywicki’s mother contacted the Illinois State Police and advised them that her daughter had not arrived at college.
On September 1, 1992, Zywicki’s body was located along Interstate Highway 44 (I-44) in rural Lawrence County, Missouri, which is located between Springfield and Joplin, Missouri. She was wrapped in a red blanket bound with duct tape, had been sexually assaulted and stabbed eight times — once in the arm and seven times in the chest.
The petite blonde female was reportedly last seen with her car at mile marker 83 in central Illinois between 3:10 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on August 23, 1992. It was also reported that a tractor-trailer was seen near Zywicki’s vehicle during this time period. Some of the victim’s personal property was missing, including a Cannon 35mm camera and a musical wrist watch with an umbrella on the face.
posted by Muddler at 1:10 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
My daughter is a freshman at a State U in the Midwest, although we live 75 miles from Charlottesville. This shit scares the hell out of me. Rationally, I know its a random act of violence and 99.999% of the young women in college don't get killed, but still...
posted by COD at 1:29 PM on September 29, 2014
posted by COD at 1:29 PM on September 29, 2014
In 2002, Matthew was reportedly asked to leave Liberty University in Lynchberg, at which he played on the football team, for the alleged rape of a fellow student.
Sad that it takes an over-the-top Evangelical university to actually kick a rapist out of school.
posted by Jacqueline at 1:33 PM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]
Sad that it takes an over-the-top Evangelical university to actually kick a rapist out of school.
posted by Jacqueline at 1:33 PM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]
Here in Indiana, after three years, IU coed Lauren Spierer is still missing.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:34 PM on September 29, 2014
posted by Thorzdad at 1:34 PM on September 29, 2014
And here in Iowa the police seem to be indicating that they think ISU student Tong Shao was murdered by her boyfriend, which is probably a good reminder that, while serial killers get more publicity, women are more likely to be killed by someone they know and trust than by random strangers.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:42 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:42 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
I have fallen down the terrible wikihole of mysterious disappearances and I would like to get out now please
posted by poffin boffin at 1:52 PM on September 29, 2014 [11 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 1:52 PM on September 29, 2014 [11 favorites]
I have fallen down the terrible wikihole of mysterious disappearances and I would like to get out now please
Same - AHHH!
posted by sallybrown at 1:55 PM on September 29, 2014
Same - AHHH!
posted by sallybrown at 1:55 PM on September 29, 2014
Morgan Harrington's parents have been amazing at keeping her story - and the larger story of women at risk - in the news. The "Help Save the Next Girl" campaign has gotten a lot of press. And they're extraordinary people. Just today when this news of the link broke, her father was asked about it, and he said "I think the focus needs to be on trying to find Hannah Graham." My heart breaks for them.
The Help Save the Next Girl campaign is about empowering women, but today I again reminded my young adult sons - if you are ever in a position to help a woman get home safely, do so.
It's not just about women being vulnerable because they're alone or incapacitated. It's about the undeniable reality that a lot of violent criminals remain free because the institutions they're affiliated with brush their crimes under the rug. That absolutely must stop. And more men need to actively, visibly, loudly reject rape culture and victim-blaming.
posted by headnsouth at 2:04 PM on September 29, 2014 [9 favorites]
The Help Save the Next Girl campaign is about empowering women, but today I again reminded my young adult sons - if you are ever in a position to help a woman get home safely, do so.
It's not just about women being vulnerable because they're alone or incapacitated. It's about the undeniable reality that a lot of violent criminals remain free because the institutions they're affiliated with brush their crimes under the rug. That absolutely must stop. And more men need to actively, visibly, loudly reject rape culture and victim-blaming.
posted by headnsouth at 2:04 PM on September 29, 2014 [9 favorites]
i am familiar with that wikihole. perhaps the most mysterious disappearance in recent years was maura murray (new hampshire, february, 2004).
posted by bruce at 2:05 PM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bruce at 2:05 PM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
724A: However, at best these friends let her leave their apartment to walk home alone late at night while clearly drunk or at worst, are actually responsible for her demise.Acting in poor judgment, yes. Not living up to the best standards of behavior, certainly. "Responsible for her demise", nonsense.
posted by IAmBroom at 2:17 PM on September 29, 2014 [9 favorites]
perhaps the most mysterious disappearance in recent years was maura murray
The old ones are either disputed/deposed royalty disappearing or stuff like "so and so went off for a glorious adventure/exploration in uncharted territories and was never heard from again," which just makes the more recent ones even more depressing.
posted by poffin boffin at 2:32 PM on September 29, 2014
The old ones are either disputed/deposed royalty disappearing or stuff like "so and so went off for a glorious adventure/exploration in uncharted territories and was never heard from again," which just makes the more recent ones even more depressing.
posted by poffin boffin at 2:32 PM on September 29, 2014
It's our right as women to go out wherever, however, and whenever we please and be left alone.
posted by brujita at 2:58 PM on September 29, 2014 [20 favorites]
posted by brujita at 2:58 PM on September 29, 2014 [20 favorites]
IAmBroom: "
Maybe I did not write that out clearly. I think they are guilty of poor judgement, but they have not been ruled out as responsible. Lauren's parents are trying to get them to testify under oath at a civil proceeding so because THEY believe that the male friends are not being 100% forthcoming in what they know from that evening.
I have no idea who did it or why, but my gut says these guys were guilty of nothing more than using very poor judgement to let Lauren leave their apartments on her own.
posted by 724A at 3:00 PM on September 29, 2014
724A: However, at best these friends let her leave their apartment to walk home alone late at night while clearly drunk or at worst, are actually responsible for her demise.Acting in poor judgment, yes. Not living up to the best standards of behavior, certainly. "Responsible for her demise", nonsense."
Maybe I did not write that out clearly. I think they are guilty of poor judgement, but they have not been ruled out as responsible. Lauren's parents are trying to get them to testify under oath at a civil proceeding so because THEY believe that the male friends are not being 100% forthcoming in what they know from that evening.
I have no idea who did it or why, but my gut says these guys were guilty of nothing more than using very poor judgement to let Lauren leave their apartments on her own.
posted by 724A at 3:00 PM on September 29, 2014
I live about 15 miles from Liberty University and have picked up hitchhikers along Route 29 between Lynchburg and Charlottesville, so it's kinda surreal to see this blow up into an international news story.
It's been all over the local news for weeks, of course, but I didn't expect it to garner much interest outside of Virginia. Do you think it's just the serial killer angle that's made it suddenly "newsworthy" or is this just another case of Missing White Woman Syndrome?
posted by Jacqueline at 3:18 PM on September 29, 2014
It's been all over the local news for weeks, of course, but I didn't expect it to garner much interest outside of Virginia. Do you think it's just the serial killer angle that's made it suddenly "newsworthy" or is this just another case of Missing White Woman Syndrome?
posted by Jacqueline at 3:18 PM on September 29, 2014
Yeah, I've been following this since it's my home town, and am kind of surprised that it's making international news.
posted by gingerbeer at 3:21 PM on September 29, 2014
posted by gingerbeer at 3:21 PM on September 29, 2014
Well, it *is* the Daily Fail -- have any *reputable* international newspapers picked up the story yet? (While the Washington Post has an international audience, they cover a lot of Virginia news because so many DC workers live in Virginia, so I'm going to credit their interest in the story to that.)
posted by Jacqueline at 3:28 PM on September 29, 2014
posted by Jacqueline at 3:28 PM on September 29, 2014
I thought it was making international news because her parents are foreign (British, I think). Don't know how true that is, I read it in the comments on Gawker, which incidentally was where I first read the theory that the suspect might be a serial killer.
posted by Partario at 3:31 PM on September 29, 2014
posted by Partario at 3:31 PM on September 29, 2014
The Post has an international audience but, at least when I was growing up in DC, always called themselves a local newspaper in an area where local news is of international interest. Given that the DC area presumably has a high number of UVA alums and families, it makes sense. Then again it could just be that my eyeballs have grown numb by the billionth photo of the World's Most Photogenic Married Couple Boating Around Venice which is apparently the most important story of the year...
I hope all of the families involved somehow find peace; I hope that Hannah Graham is found soon.
posted by jetlagaddict at 3:39 PM on September 29, 2014
I hope all of the families involved somehow find peace; I hope that Hannah Graham is found soon.
posted by jetlagaddict at 3:39 PM on September 29, 2014
Rationally, I know its a random act of violence and 99.999% of the young women in college don't get killed, but still...
The crimes detailed in this FPP are terrible and horrifying. But the real risk to a woman at university is suggested by this sentence:
A 2009 study by the school found that 33 percent of sorority women were sexually assaulted during their time at UVA.
I hope they catch the killer or killers involved and solve all of these cases (and of course even more that Hannah Graham is found unhurt). Even one disappearance is far too many.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:17 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
The crimes detailed in this FPP are terrible and horrifying. But the real risk to a woman at university is suggested by this sentence:
A 2009 study by the school found that 33 percent of sorority women were sexually assaulted during their time at UVA.
I hope they catch the killer or killers involved and solve all of these cases (and of course even more that Hannah Graham is found unhurt). Even one disappearance is far too many.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:17 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
I tend to mentally increase those kinds of findings by 1/3 because of how often women decide not to report assaults, or even anonymously discuss them. And 60% doesn't even sound like an unrealistic estimate either, which is so terrible that I need to go look at cat videos now.
posted by poffin boffin at 4:24 PM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 4:24 PM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]
I think it's basically Missing White Woman syndrome, but it's a local story for the Post, because Hannah Graham is from the DC area. And she moved to the US from the UK as a child and presumably still has a lot of family there, so I guess I can see the British media being interested. But yes, mostly Missing White Woman syndrome, which is not to downplay the awfulness of the situation.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:25 PM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:25 PM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
Partario: "I thought it was making international news because her parents are foreign (British, I think). Don't know how true that is, I read it in the comments on Gawker, which incidentally was where I first read the theory that the suspect might be a serial killer."
Hannah Graham and her parents moved to the States when she was very young. I do not recall the exact year, but she was around 4 or 5. They are/were British subjects.
posted by 724A at 4:42 PM on September 29, 2014
Hannah Graham and her parents moved to the States when she was very young. I do not recall the exact year, but she was around 4 or 5. They are/were British subjects.
posted by 724A at 4:42 PM on September 29, 2014
In 2002, Matthew was reportedly asked to leave Liberty University in Lynchberg, at which he played on the football team, for the alleged rape of a fellow student.
I think crimes of this sort should always be reported to police. It's not just about the (alleged) victim; it's also about recording data points that may be relevant to future criminal investigations.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:54 PM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think crimes of this sort should always be reported to police. It's not just about the (alleged) victim; it's also about recording data points that may be relevant to future criminal investigations.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:54 PM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I was kind of surprised this got as much attention from non-local media as it has. I don't recall the Alexis Murphy case (the previous missing woman in the Charlottesville area) getting this level of attention, though posters were up everywhere locally.
posted by nangar at 6:00 PM on September 29, 2014
posted by nangar at 6:00 PM on September 29, 2014
I'm a bit concerned that the police have found a large lower class black man as a possible suspect and started the process of convicting him in the press without disclosing any significant evidence.
posted by humanfont at 7:05 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 7:05 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
Well, it *is* the Daily Fail -- have any *reputable* international newspapers picked up the story yet?
I'm in Wisconsin, and I first saw this story on the MSN splash page. It shows up in my Google News feed. I'm a UVa alum, but I have no special filter for UVa/Charlottesville news.
I really appreciate how cagey the local PD are being about dealing with the media. They're not giving out any information they don't know for certain (for example, I have no idea what evidence they have against Matthew in either case), and are doing really well at keeping the thing from blowing out of control, especially since the media seems to really want to go nuclear on it.
It's about the undeniable reality that a lot of violent criminals remain free because the institutions they're affiliated with brush their crimes under the rug.
I don't know if these two cases should be conflated with the current movement regarding sexual violence on college campus, which I thought was mostly about administrators and university police systems covering things up so that they remain attractive to students, rather than actually punishing the perpetrators. Graham was a student at UVa, but lived off grounds, and was apparently assaulted off grounds by a non-student, and the case is not being handled by the UVa Police. Sure, Matthew is a UVa employee, but UVa and its hospital are the biggest employers in town. Harrington was not a UVa student, and her case wasn't handled by university police.
posted by LionIndex at 7:20 PM on September 29, 2014
I'm in Wisconsin, and I first saw this story on the MSN splash page. It shows up in my Google News feed. I'm a UVa alum, but I have no special filter for UVa/Charlottesville news.
I really appreciate how cagey the local PD are being about dealing with the media. They're not giving out any information they don't know for certain (for example, I have no idea what evidence they have against Matthew in either case), and are doing really well at keeping the thing from blowing out of control, especially since the media seems to really want to go nuclear on it.
It's about the undeniable reality that a lot of violent criminals remain free because the institutions they're affiliated with brush their crimes under the rug.
I don't know if these two cases should be conflated with the current movement regarding sexual violence on college campus, which I thought was mostly about administrators and university police systems covering things up so that they remain attractive to students, rather than actually punishing the perpetrators. Graham was a student at UVa, but lived off grounds, and was apparently assaulted off grounds by a non-student, and the case is not being handled by the UVa Police. Sure, Matthew is a UVa employee, but UVa and its hospital are the biggest employers in town. Harrington was not a UVa student, and her case wasn't handled by university police.
posted by LionIndex at 7:20 PM on September 29, 2014
I'm a bit concerned that the police have found a large lower class black man as a possible suspect and started the process of convicting him in the press without disclosing any significant evidence.
Yeah, I think they're starting to make the turn from what I praised them for to this, but I felt when they first started looking for Matthew they did a really good job of downplaying the reasons and intensity of their interest in him. But I would really like to know what the link is between Graham and Harrington.
posted by LionIndex at 7:24 PM on September 29, 2014
Yeah, I think they're starting to make the turn from what I praised them for to this, but I felt when they first started looking for Matthew they did a really good job of downplaying the reasons and intensity of their interest in him. But I would really like to know what the link is between Graham and Harrington.
posted by LionIndex at 7:24 PM on September 29, 2014
I don't know if these two cases should be conflated with the current movement regarding sexual violence on college campus,
Matthew was quietly removed from nearby Liberty University for allegedly raping a fellow student while he was enrolled there and on the football team.
posted by headnsouth at 9:19 PM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]
Matthew was quietly removed from nearby Liberty University for allegedly raping a fellow student while he was enrolled there and on the football team.
posted by headnsouth at 9:19 PM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]
I beleive they collected DNA from Harrington because I read they were able to link it to an earlier attack via DNA in a newspaper article. I think the reason that this has had so much media attention is that the families of the other women who've disappeared in the area (not all white, btw) and Graham's family and the community in general have pushed hard for police and media attention for years and years. There seemed to be a consensus amongst the families that there was a serial killer and it appears they are correct. Or more correctly, there were two predators stalking women in the area. Good for them, because they met a lot of pushback, some really horrible things were said about the families and the girls themselves.
posted by fshgrl at 9:39 PM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by fshgrl at 9:39 PM on September 29, 2014 [4 favorites]
Matthew was quietly removed from nearby Liberty University for allegedly raping a fellow student while he was enrolled there and on the football team.
Which is a lot closer to the outcome people are trying to push schools to adopt than sweeping it under the rug and letting perpetrators stay in school, right? They did what you're hoping they would do. If the school had any part in convincing the victim there to not press charges, then shame on them, but otherwise Liberty apparently has a better track record than a lot of schools.
posted by LionIndex at 4:21 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Which is a lot closer to the outcome people are trying to push schools to adopt than sweeping it under the rug and letting perpetrators stay in school, right? They did what you're hoping they would do. If the school had any part in convincing the victim there to not press charges, then shame on them, but otherwise Liberty apparently has a better track record than a lot of schools.
posted by LionIndex at 4:21 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's also quite possible that Liberty University kicked him out just for having premarital sex, if he tried to claim it was consensual. Their student code of conduct is super-strict. I wonder if the female student was punished too?
posted by Jacqueline at 4:54 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Jacqueline at 4:54 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
Liberty University is an evangelical Christian college where students can be expelled for having consensual sex outside of marriage. The school won't release any information about the disciplinary action against Matthew, because he's entitled to confidentiality. What we know comes from piecing things together: the police say that there was a rape charge against him but that he said the sex was consensual and the victim eventually stopped cooperating with the investigation, and the school says that soon after that he ceased to be a student there. It seems pretty likely that he was expelled for confessing to having consensual sex, rather than for being accused of rape. So no, not anyone's preferred outcome. And while there are lots of reasons that a victim would not want to pursue a rape case, one of them in this instance might be that the school could punish her for having consensual sex if the jury found her rapist not guilty.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:56 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:56 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
They did what you're hoping they would do.
Rape is a crime. It should be reported to and investigated by law enforcement, not university PR departments and archbishops and committees.
Removing an alleged criminal from one environment without a thorough independent investigation into the crime ought to be a crime in itself.
posted by headnsouth at 5:00 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
Rape is a crime. It should be reported to and investigated by law enforcement, not university PR departments and archbishops and committees.
Removing an alleged criminal from one environment without a thorough independent investigation into the crime ought to be a crime in itself.
posted by headnsouth at 5:00 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
archbishops and committees.
Removing an alleged criminal from one environment without a thorough independent investigation into the crime ought to be a crime in itself.
I don't follow. The rape accusation was handled by the police in Lynchburg, and the local DA was prepared to prosecute. I mean, Liberty is a sexist institution, but it doesn't seem they had much to do with this. All the reports suggest it was investigated as a crime, by law enforcement, without any attempt to cover it up.
posted by skewed at 7:36 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Removing an alleged criminal from one environment without a thorough independent investigation into the crime ought to be a crime in itself.
I don't follow. The rape accusation was handled by the police in Lynchburg, and the local DA was prepared to prosecute. I mean, Liberty is a sexist institution, but it doesn't seem they had much to do with this. All the reports suggest it was investigated as a crime, by law enforcement, without any attempt to cover it up.
posted by skewed at 7:36 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
today I again reminded my young adult sons - if you are ever in a position to help a woman get home safely, do so.
Laudable, but the unfortunate reality is that in all likelihood a woman would be wise to decline any such help. This is sickening and terrible and point-blank women should not ever have to change their behaviour because of what men choose to do, nor should they live in fear, but it's nevertheless true: women need to keep women safe. It should not be true, but given how many women are assaulted by people they already know, trusting a man--especially in a university context, given the statistics floating around--is the unsafe thing to do. That is wrong, it shouldn't be, and it needs to be coupled with men policing each other and having no tolerance whatsoever.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:06 AM on September 30, 2014 [7 favorites]
Laudable, but the unfortunate reality is that in all likelihood a woman would be wise to decline any such help. This is sickening and terrible and point-blank women should not ever have to change their behaviour because of what men choose to do, nor should they live in fear, but it's nevertheless true: women need to keep women safe. It should not be true, but given how many women are assaulted by people they already know, trusting a man--especially in a university context, given the statistics floating around--is the unsafe thing to do. That is wrong, it shouldn't be, and it needs to be coupled with men policing each other and having no tolerance whatsoever.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:06 AM on September 30, 2014 [7 favorites]
I just want to echo headnsouth's comments about the Harrington family. I met them briefly while Morgan was still considered missing, and I found them almost superhumanly brave and compassionate in the face of the most frightening thing parents could experience. Even then, they were already looking for ways to help other young women. Truly amazing people, and I hope that getting answers to what happened provides some small bit of relief.
posted by naoko at 9:34 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by naoko at 9:34 AM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
WTOP (DC newsradio) says we will hear more about the evidence during the bond hearing on Thursday. The defense lawyer says he hasn't been informed of the evidence yet.
posted by humanfont at 4:26 PM on September 30, 2014
posted by humanfont at 4:26 PM on September 30, 2014
today I again reminded my young adult sons - if you are ever in a position to help a woman get home safely, do so.
The suggestion is well meant, but how are women to know that your sons are safe? Most rapists are known to their victims, and Matthew himself reportedly offered women free rides home.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:26 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
The suggestion is well meant, but how are women to know that your sons are safe? Most rapists are known to their victims, and Matthew himself reportedly offered women free rides home.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:26 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Joe, this was only one comment and it was a good one. All a parent can do is to teach her sons not to rape anyone or take advantage of anyone when the other person is incapacitated. This woman goes beyond that and admonishes her sons to actually step up and take the responsibility to get women home safely, to make sure they're not out walking home in an unsafe place. That's pretty commendable parenting, regardless of the fact that her parenting and her sons can't make the world a safe place.
Yes, the suggestion is well meant; it should be so well meant that every parent out there teaches their children the same thing, boys or girls. Don't leave someone in the lurch, in a vulnerable position, even if you're angry with them or they're being obnoxious - just take care of each other, women and men both.
I think we'll hear more about the evidence against Jesse Matthew later; it's very early in the case right now and it's not unusual for the police to hold their evidence away from the media until the defense team has been given the information - that's really the way it should be, since it would be entirely wrong for the news media to start juggling the evidence around and putting their speculation out there as fact before the defendant's lawyers even have that information.
The fact that this man is a "large lower class black man" should have nothing whatever to do with this; leave that kind of crap to the media. Same goes for Missing White Woman Syndrome. Just for once, could we try to look at the crime and the persons involved instead of at their damn skin color?
I really appreciate how cagey the local PD are being about dealing with the media. They're not giving out any information they don't know for certain (for example, I have no idea what evidence they have against Matthew in either case), and are doing really well at keeping the thing from blowing out of control, especially since the media seems to really want to go nuclear on it.
Yes. Help Save the Next Girl.
As for the story about him raping someone from the college, again we need to let that story unwind instead of muttering about what the circumstances may have or may not have been, since we really know nothing for certain about that incident.
posted by aryma at 7:51 PM on September 30, 2014
Yes, the suggestion is well meant; it should be so well meant that every parent out there teaches their children the same thing, boys or girls. Don't leave someone in the lurch, in a vulnerable position, even if you're angry with them or they're being obnoxious - just take care of each other, women and men both.
I think we'll hear more about the evidence against Jesse Matthew later; it's very early in the case right now and it's not unusual for the police to hold their evidence away from the media until the defense team has been given the information - that's really the way it should be, since it would be entirely wrong for the news media to start juggling the evidence around and putting their speculation out there as fact before the defendant's lawyers even have that information.
The fact that this man is a "large lower class black man" should have nothing whatever to do with this; leave that kind of crap to the media. Same goes for Missing White Woman Syndrome. Just for once, could we try to look at the crime and the persons involved instead of at their damn skin color?
I really appreciate how cagey the local PD are being about dealing with the media. They're not giving out any information they don't know for certain (for example, I have no idea what evidence they have against Matthew in either case), and are doing really well at keeping the thing from blowing out of control, especially since the media seems to really want to go nuclear on it.
Yes. Help Save the Next Girl.
As for the story about him raping someone from the college, again we need to let that story unwind instead of muttering about what the circumstances may have or may not have been, since we really know nothing for certain about that incident.
posted by aryma at 7:51 PM on September 30, 2014
Just for once, could we try to look at the crime and the persons involved instead of at their damn skin color?
Unfortunately, how these sorts of cases tend to be reported in the media has everything to do with skin color. "Missing White Woman Syndrome" isn't just snark, it's a documented statistical phenomenon.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:55 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Unfortunately, how these sorts of cases tend to be reported in the media has everything to do with skin color. "Missing White Woman Syndrome" isn't just snark, it's a documented statistical phenomenon.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:55 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
...and we have another Central Virginia local exemplar that highlights the roles race play in media coverage - Alexis Murphy, whose family really worked with local media to keep her disappearance and case in the public eye (and tried to get national media to report it, too), but whose story didn't go national supernova like Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington. (Even when the Harrington parents tried to help it go national.) And the blaming the victim/why should we care? (which was ludicrous) started earlier in her case and it was more visible than with either Morgan or Hannah. There was a lot of visible pushback in the area on that "Well she did know/talk to/hang out with ... bad elements" crud about Alexis, but there was a real willingness among some to blame her for what happened to her and to write her off as unworthy because she didn't live a perfect, unassailable life - a willingness that sure as heck seemed rooted in bias to my eyes.
As for Matthew, I actually gave him a lot of the benefit of the doubt early on - I wasn't willing to proclaim him guilty just because of being vaguely creepy on occasional security cameras (there was another vaguely creepy man around at the same time on the same cameras) and because he was a person of interest to the cops. However, that benefit of the doubt narrowed and narrowed over time as more information has come in. The evidence and indications are piling up, and it seems like they'll be able to convict him on at least some of the expanded set of charges they have (the Fairfax rape, the Harrington case).
posted by julen at 10:01 PM on September 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
As for Matthew, I actually gave him a lot of the benefit of the doubt early on - I wasn't willing to proclaim him guilty just because of being vaguely creepy on occasional security cameras (there was another vaguely creepy man around at the same time on the same cameras) and because he was a person of interest to the cops. However, that benefit of the doubt narrowed and narrowed over time as more information has come in. The evidence and indications are piling up, and it seems like they'll be able to convict him on at least some of the expanded set of charges they have (the Fairfax rape, the Harrington case).
posted by julen at 10:01 PM on September 30, 2014 [4 favorites]
Unfortunately, how these sorts of cases tend to be reported in the media has everything to do with skin color. "Missing White Woman Syndrome" isn't just snark, it's a documented statistical phenomenon.
I think it's more than race. How well-off the family is plays a huge part. I remember that another woman, a white woman, who went missing in Bloomington before Lauren did, didn't get the coverage or attention that Lauren Spierer did, probably because she was a teen mom and lived in a trailer park.
Being well-off helps.
posted by discopolo at 6:35 AM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think it's more than race. How well-off the family is plays a huge part. I remember that another woman, a white woman, who went missing in Bloomington before Lauren did, didn't get the coverage or attention that Lauren Spierer did, probably because she was a teen mom and lived in a trailer park.
Being well-off helps.
posted by discopolo at 6:35 AM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
The bond hearing this morning was canceled and the next court date isn't until December. All the evidence is being closely held.
posted by humanfont at 7:38 AM on October 2, 2014
posted by humanfont at 7:38 AM on October 2, 2014
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
While both the Graham recent disappearance and the Harrington disappearance seem to be crimes of opportunity, it also seems as if they were well thought out in advance of the opportunity. Hanging out outside JPJ after a concert and on the downtown mall on a Saturday night at 1:00am raises the chance that a drunk or drugged woman will be there vulnerable to a predator.
I also want to compliment Police Chief Tim Longo with the diligence he has been pursuing this and with his comportment at the various and numerous press conferences he has been holding. Additionally, his willingness to ask for help from the Virginia State Police and the FBI should be acknowledged and commended.
However, there is still a long way to go between having a suspect and no body and prosecution.
Find #HannahGraham
posted by 724A at 12:28 PM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]