Two Lives, One Monster : The Tragic Stories of Morgan Harrington and Hannah Graham

The Disappearance of Morgan Harrington

Charlottesville, Virginia, a college town full of promise, ambition, and young lives chasing their dreams. But for two families, it became the place where those dreams met an unimaginable end. Morgan Harrington and Hannah Graham, two vibrant young women from two different schools, never crossed paths in life. But in death, their stories would collide in the darkest way imaginable.

Let’s rewind to October 17, 2009. Morgan Dana Harrington, a bright 20-year-old student from Virginia Tech, had one thing on her mind that day: Metallica. She and her friends were thrilled to attend the iconic band's concert at the John Paul Jones Arena, located in the heart of the University of Virginia campus. They had arrived early, buzzing with excitement. But during the opening act, Morgan left her seat to find a restroom and never came back.

She called her friends around 8:48 p.m., saying she’d somehow ended up outside the arena and couldn’t get back in. The arena had a strict no re-entry policy, and despite having 18 women’s restrooms inside, Morgan had left, perhaps confused or looking for something else. Still, she didn’t sound panicked, just determined. She told her friends not to worry, she’d find another way home, and urged them to enjoy the show.

What followed was a nightmare. Witnesses spotted Morgan near the Copeley Road Bridge around 9:30 p.m., trying to hitch a ride. Some said she was seen with three unknown men. Some also reported seeing her alone near the Copeley Road Bridge And that was it. She vanished.

The next morning, her purse and phone with the battery removed were found in a University of Virginia (UVA) parking lot near Lannigan Field, a park in the University of Virginia.

Her family launched a relentless search. Flyers went up, media attention surged, and even Metallica offered $50,000 for information. But weeks turned into months. And then, on January 26, 2010, the call everyone feared came.

A farmer, tending to a remote field in Albemarle County, just ten miles from where Morgan was last seen, discovered skeletal remains. It was Morgan. Her body had been dumped in a secluded area of Anchorage Farm, over a mile from any road access. It was clear: she had been raped and murdered, her bones broken from the violence inflicted upon her.

In April, investigators confirmed that a black Pantera T-shirt, found months earlier along a road near the arena, belonged to Morgan. It was likely discarded by her killer. The forensic trail led to an eerie connection: DNA from Morgan’s case matched an unsolved 2005 sexual assault in Fairfax, Virginia. The victim in that case had managed to escape, but her attacker was never identified. Now, they knew: the same man had struck again. But the case went cold. For five long years.

Hannah Graham and the Break in the Case

Then came Hannah Graham.

On the night of September 13, 2014, Hannah, an 18-year-old sophomore at UVA, went out with friends. Surveillance footage from that night showed her wandering Charlottesville’s downtown area, appearing disoriented and possibly intoxicated. At one point, she was seen outside McGrady’s Irish Pub, stumbling, turning back, almost as if unsure where she was. Her last known message to friends said she was lost.

Shortly after midnight, more footage emerged: Hannah appeared at a Shell gas station, running, though no one was seen chasing her. At some point, she crossed into a lower-income neighborhood near Friendship Court, an area unfamiliar and potentially unsafe. That’s where Jesse Matthew Jr. came in.

Matthew, a former college athlete and cab driver, had a troubling past. He’d been accused of sexual assaults at two different universities but walked away each time without charges. On the night of Hannah’s disappearance, he was once again in Charlottesville—and this time, the cameras caught him with her.

Police tracked him down. Forensic testing confirmed what no one wanted to believe: Jesse Matthew’s DNA matched the evidence in both Morgan’s and the 2005 Fairfax assault cases. He had been hiding in plain sight for nearly a decade.

In September 2014, shortly after his arrest, Hannah’s remains were found in a wooded area just miles from where Morgan’s body had been discovered.

Trial and Conviction

On September 15, 2015, Jesse Matthew was formally charged with the abduction and murder of Morgan Harrington.

He had already been indicted in Hannah’s case, and rather than face the death penalty, he pled guilty to both murders on March 2, 2016. The judge handed down four consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole, no appeals. Just prison walls for the rest of his life.