As police search for a person of interest in the Hannah Graham case after losing track of him on Saturday, September 20, details about his employment history are emerging.
“On Saturday, we became aware that several years ago Jesse Matthew worked at Yellow Cab,” said Yellow Cab of Charlottesville owner Mark Brown, who told C-VILLE that he does not have records establishing the exact dates of Matthew’s employment but that he has not worked for the company at any time since Brown purchased it in 2012. His employment was first revealed by WVTF radio on Sunday, and a photo of Matthew published in The Hook newspaper in 2007 shows him standing with his cab.
Matthew, 32, who was the last person known to have interacted with the missing 18-year-old second year UVA student before she vanished early in the morning hours of Saturday, September 14, is currently employed as a patient technician in the operating room at UVA Medical Center and was hired in August 2012, according to UVA spokesperson McGregor McCance.
Surveillance video captured Matthew encountering Graham as she walked along the Downtown Mall after 1am on the night she disappeared. According to police, eyewitnesses place both Graham and Matthew at Tempo restaurant at the east end of the Mall soon after they were captured on video. Police conducted a search of his Hessian Hills apartment and impounded his car, a burnt orange 1998 Chrysler coupe, on Friday, September 19, and in a Sunday afternoon press conference, Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo became visibly emotional as he named Matthew for the first time, and described how Matthew had sped away from a police tail on Saturday after he’d come to the police station and requested an attorney. After speaking with an attorney, Matthew, who has not been charged in the Graham case, left the station without giving further statements to investigators, Longo said.
Police declined to describe the vehicle he was driving as police trailed him on Saturday, but said it was not the orange Chrysler. Arrest warrants have been issued against him for two reckless driving charges, Longo said.
