Murder charges filed in death of British student Hannah Graham

Graham disappeared from the University of Virginia in September and was found dead a month later

(Getty Images)

Prosecutors in Virginia have filed first-degree murder charges in the death of Hannah Graham, a British student at the University of Virginia. The charges against Jesse Matthew are expected to be formally announced today.

Ms Graham was last seen on 13 September when leaving a party near the University of Virginia campus. She was seen on surveillance footage walking on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall and witnesses have told investigators that she was seen at a bar with Mr Matthew, Fox News reported.

Mr Matthew already had been charged with abduction with intent to defile, but forensic evidence allegedly has linked him to Ms Graham’s remains, which were found in a wooded area in Albemarle County, Virginia.

Calls to Albemarle County officials weren’t returned on Tuesday.

Mr Matthew is being held in Fairfax County jail on capital murder charges stemming from a 2005 incident, USA Today reported. Forensic evidence also has tied him to the death of Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student whose body was found not far from where the remains of Ms Graham were found, though he hasn't been charged in that case.

Follow Payton Guion on Twitter @PaytonGuion.