It took 10 years, but a former City of Fairfax resident got justice at last when the man who brutally assaulted and nearly killed her a decade ago finally received his punishment.
Last Friday, Oct. 2, in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Jesse L. Matthew Jr., 33, – who’ll go on trial in 2016 for the murders of Charlottesville’s Morgan Harrington and Hannah Graham – was sentenced to three, consecutive, life terms in prison.
“He committed this crime cold and calculating, free of restraint,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh. “And he seems to have no remorse about it. On Sept. 24, 2005, [Matthew] wasn’t living in Fairfax County, and there’s no doubt that he’s a sexual predator. He was [here] searching for a victim. And he couldn’t have found a more helpless one – R.G. was a 110-pound woman with her arms full of groceries.”
She lived in a townhouse on Rock Garden Drive, near the Giant Foods store. A native of India, she was then 26 and in the U.S. to study. She’d lost track of time while reading at Borders bookstore, so it was dark when she finished shopping and headed home on foot. Just steps from her front door, Matthew, a former college football player, grabbed her from behind.
“He lifted her up and carried her into the darkness,” said Morrogh. “He slammed her head on the ground, choked her unconscious, beat her black and blue, sexually assaulted her and tried his best to take her life.”
The only thing that saved her, said the prosecutor, was the fortuitous intervention of a man passing by on his way to a friend’s house to watch a boxing match. He heard R.G. screaming and, when he started toward her, Matthew fled. “He’d beaten her to a pulp,” said Morrogh. “The horror of that moment is indescribable.”
Police investigated, but the case went cold until 2010, when a positive DNA match tied Harrington’s murder to R.G.’s assailant. Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech sophomore, vanished outside a Metallica concert in Charlottesville in October 2009. Her body was found three months later; and in summer 2010, authorities linked her killer’s DNA to the person who had abducted and sexually assaulted the Fairfax woman nearly five years earlier.
MATTHEW, of Charlottesville, was then charged with attempted capital murder, abduction with intent to defile and object sexual penetration in connection with R.G.’s case. He’s also charged in Charlottesville with Harrington’s killing, plus the fall 2014 murder and abduction of UVA student Graham.
Meanwhile, after her ordeal, R.G. returned to India, but came back to Virginia to testify against Matthew at his June 8 trial. (The Connection is only identifying her as R.G. because she’s a victim). Matthew then entered an Alford plea, not admitting guilt, but acknowledging the existence of enough evidence to convict him.
“There’s a complete and utter lack of responsibility on the part of this defendant,” said Morrogh during Friday’s sentencing. “He gave an Alford plea, instead of pleading guilty. And he only did that after he caused the victim to cross two oceans and testify in front of a bunch of strangers about how she was sexually assaulted and beaten.”
Judge David Schell set Matthew’s sentencing for Oct. 2, but allowed R.G. to testify June 18 about how the crime has affected her life, so she could then return home to India. Describing her attack, she said, “I felt utterly helpless. I was screaming and I felt nobody was going to come. I feared I would be killed – that this would be the end of my life.” Later, as time passed, said R.G., “Coming so close to death, I’d basically stopped living. You feel humiliated and in a vicious cycle of anger and self-hatred.”
A former girlfriend of Matthew’s recently wrote a letter to Schell claiming Matthew was sexually abused as a child; and in court Friday, Morrogh alluded to it. Even if that were true, he said, “What difference does it make to this case? It’s not mitigating.”
Morrogh said most victims of sexual abuse don’t repeat that pattern but, instead, grow up to lead productive lives. “And if, indeed, [Matthew] endured something like that and was willing to inflict that on a perfect stranger, what does that say about him?” he asked. “It makes him even more dangerous.”
For Friday’s sentencing, R.G. also wrote a letter – a formal, victim-impact statement further explaining to the judge the long-lasting effects of the crimes perpetrated against her, plus her feelings toward Matthew. “That night, I died an undignified death due to a shameful act of human greed,” she wrote. “I’ve lived with this mortifying horror for 10 years, [while] this cruel and savage sexual predator hid in plain sight.”
Likening Matthew to “a modern-day Jekyll and Hyde,” Morrogh said Matthew could present a pleasant exterior to mask the depravity within. “He seeks pity, yet is pitiless,” said the prosecutor. “He seeks mercy, but is merciless; he seeks empathy, but is heartless.”
Quoting Robert Louis Stevenson, author of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Morrogh said, “In each of us, two natures are at war – the good and the evil. But in our own hands lies the power to choose. What we want most to be, we are.” Then, he added, “Matthew chose what he wanted to be; now it’s time for him to pay.”
Noting that former Circuit Court Judge Richard Jamborsky once called a felon “wicked and evil” prior to sentencing, Morrogh told Schell, “Given the unprovoked and violent nature of these crimes, I say the same thing [about Matthew]. I ask for three life sentences for this ruthless and remorseless defendant.”
However, defense attorney Robert Frank asked for leniency, saying his client was raised in poverty and “suffered racism and his own victimization as a child [without] counseling to deal with them. Many people knew him as kind and considerate and called him a gentle giant. There’s no need to lock him up forever.”
Matthew declined to speak before sentencing; then it was Schell’s turn. “This was a vicious and brutal attack,” he said. “The victim suffered severe, physical and psychological injuries.” Then, in front of Matthew’s mother, plus both Harrington’s and Graham’s parents, Schell ordered Matthew to spend the rest of his life in prison.
“No, no, no,” Matthew’s mother screamed at the judge. “I hope you rot in hell.”
RELATIVES then led her out of the courtroom. Afterward, Morrogh said she’d be in his prayers because “she’s a victim, too.” Calling it a “just sentence,” he said, “The judge put public safety first and recognized the heinous nature of these crimes. My thoughts are with R.G. today, and I hope time will help her heal from this terrible trauma.”
Agreeing, City of Fairfax Police Chief Carl Pardiny said, “While we’re relieved to have this closure to this case, our hearts truly go out to the victim and the families who’ve suffered.”
“It was a hard, painful day, thinking what R.G. went through, and I think Matthew got just what he deserved,” said Morrogh. “For him to treat R.G. in the manner he did was despicable and vile, and I’m glad he got three life sentences. If she hadn’t come here, he’d have been free and we wouldn’t have been able to prosecute this case – so she’s the hero.”
“There are no winners here today; there’s loss and pain all around. R.G. lost her innocence, the Grahams and I lost our daughters and Matthew lost his freedom. And that scream that came out of his mother’s mouth was the same one that came out of my mouth when I heard my daughter had died.”
--Gil Harrington
But Harrington’s mother Gil said, “There are no winners here today; there’s loss and pain all around. R.G. lost her innocence, the Grahams and I lost our daughters and Matthew lost his freedom. And that scream that came out of his mother’s mouth was the same one that came out of my mouth when I heard my daughter had died.”