JESSE LEROY MATTHEW JR | The “Back-to-School Killer” | DNA Ties Two Virginia College Students’ Homicides | Gets 7 Life Sentences | Diagnosed With Stage Four Colon Cancer | Autographed Letter Signed

Jesse L Matthew. Autographed Letter, Signed. Handwritten, Commercial #10 (4.125 × 9.5 envelope). Charlotte, NC. May 23, 2025. Content unknown. SEALED.

Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. was once a trusted presence on college campuses in Virginia, known for his athletic build, calm demeanor, and seemingly unremarkable past. Beneath the surface, however, he harbored a disturbing proclivity for sexual violence that spanned more than a decade. From university rape accusations swept under the rug to the high-profile disappearances and murders of Morgan Harrington and Hannah Graham, Matthew's trail of destruction was chillingly concealed in plain sight. This true crime narrative chronicles his evolution from student athlete to serial predator, the catastrophic institutional failures that enabled his violence, and the immense toll his crimes exacted on his victims, their families, and the broader public.

THE MONSTER IN THE SHADOWS: The Chilling Crimes of Jesse Matthew

Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. was born on December 14, 1981, in Charlottesville, Virginia. A native son of the very community he would later terrorize, he was raised in a working-class African-American family known to be religious and private. His early life showed few signs of the monstrous acts that would follow. By all accounts, Matthew was quiet, athletic, and involved in local sports. He attended high school in the area before enrolling at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he studied for a time before transferring to Christopher Newport University in Newport News. Though he was on the football team at both institutions, his collegiate career was tainted by whispers of misconduct and allegations of sexual assault. In both cases, the accusations were never publicly adjudicated, and Matthew simply left each institution quietly.

In terms of employment, Matthew held a number of positions that placed him in close proximity to vulnerable individuals, including work as an operating room technician and taxi driver. He was employed at the University of Virginia Medical Center in a patient transport role, despite previous disciplinary red flags. Over time, Matthew managed to create an image of ordinariness, rarely drawing attention. But behind the seemingly benign façade lay a man who was committing acts of predation with increasing violence and frequency.

The first confirmed link to Jesse Matthew's crimes came years after the 2009 disappearance of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington. Harrington vanished after attending a Metallica concert in Charlottesville. Her body was discovered months later in a remote Albemarle County hayfield, her remains scattered and decomposed. The case went cold until DNA found on her body was eventually connected to a 2005 sexual assault in Fairfax, Virginia, in which the victim survived a vicious rape and beating. That DNA profile would lie dormant until 2014, when the disappearance of another young woman would shake Charlottesville to its core.

On September 13, 2014, 18-year-old University of Virginia student Hannah Graham disappeared after a night out with friends. Surveillance footage captured her walking the Downtown Mall in a disoriented state before she was seen with Jesse Matthew, who was identified through subsequent investigations. Matthew fled the area shortly after police began questioning him, initiating a multistate manhunt. He was captured on September 24, 2014, in Galveston, Texas, on a beach where he had taken refuge. Law enforcement transported him back to Virginia, where he was charged initially with abduction with intent to defile in connection with Hannah Graham’s disappearance.

On October 18, 2014, Hannah’s skeletal remains were discovered on an abandoned property in Albemarle County, less than ten miles from where Morgan Harrington’s body had been found. The similarities in location, the nature of the remains, and forensic evidence led to a critical breakthrough. DNA taken from Matthew matched the evidence found on both Harrington and the 2005 Fairfax victim. What emerged was the unmistakable profile of a serial predator. Authorities concluded that Matthew had a long history of sexually motivated violence. In the Fairfax case, he had stalked and attacked a woman walking home at night, brutally raping and nearly killing her. The savagery of that attack was echoed in the deaths of Harrington and Graham.

Jesse Matthew was formally charged in Fairfax County with attempted murder and sexual assault for the 2005 case and pleaded guilty in 2016. He received three life sentences for that assault. In Albemarle County, he later struck a plea deal to avoid the death penalty for the murders of Harrington and Graham. In March 2016, he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and received four life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The impact of Matthew’s crimes rippled far beyond his victims. The families of Morgan Harrington and Hannah Graham became outspoken advocates for campus safety and institutional reform. The public was horrified not only by the brutality of the crimes but by the ease with which Matthew had moved between universities and employers despite serious allegations. Both Liberty and Christopher Newport universities had documented sexual misconduct complaints, but Matthew had left quietly without formal charges—a pattern that raised critical questions about how institutions handle sexual assault.

Public outcry following these revelations contributed to changes in how universities report and act upon allegations of sexual misconduct. There were calls for legislation requiring better coordination among universities, employers, and law enforcement when red flags are raised about individuals in positions of trust. The case also reignited national conversations about the treatment of sexual assault victims and the flaws in systems that often fail them.

As of this writing, Jesse Matthew is incarcerated at the Sussex I State Prison in Waverly, Virginia, serving multiple life sentences. In 2019, it was reported that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. There have been no known rehabilitation efforts or public expressions of remorse. Whether due to illness or imprisonment, his threat to society is neutralized, but the legacy of his violence endures.

This case stands as a chilling example of how serial offenders can remain hidden in plain sight—protected by institutional inaction, societal apathy, and an undercurrent of disbelief that such evil can reside in the familiar. The murders of Morgan Harrington and Hannah Graham might have been prevented had earlier red flags been properly addressed. Their deaths became a catalyst for long-overdue change.

In conclusion, the Jesse Matthew case illustrates the catastrophic price of silence and systemic failure. It underscores the need for vigilance, transparency, and accountability in handling sexual misconduct—especially on campuses and in workplaces where predators often lurk behind masks of normalcy. His story is a grim reminder of the predators among us, and the cost of ignoring early warning signs.

Given the notoriety and infamy surrounding Jesse Matthew, and considering his declining health, any authentic autographed item by him would be considered exceedingly rare and potentially valuable, particularly within the realm of crime memorabilia collectors.

• VIDEO: Making a Serial Killer - Season 1, Episode 2 - Jesse Matthew ... - Full Episode | https://youtu.be/6O8EKu_EYnk

• VIDEO: Notorious Virginia Killer Jesse Matthew Jr. Diagnosed with Cancer | https://youtu.be/UPAyiFYOGF8

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