BUCHANAN COUNTY, Va. — Jesse Matthew Jr., the man convicted of killing two Virginia college students, was transferred out of a high-security prison to Keen Mountain Correctional Facility in March, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) confirmed to CBS 6.
Matthew is serving a life sentence for the murders of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington and University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. He also sexually abused a woman in Fairfax County.
Before being moved to Keen Mountain Correctional Facility on March 6, he was serving his sentence in Red Onion State Prison, a high-security prison in Wise County. He was first taken there in March 2016, shortly after pleading guilty to the murders of Harrington and Graham.
Matthew was transferred out of Red Onion to Sussex I State Prison in Waverly in May 2019, so he could receive medical treatment for stage 4 colon cancer, and then moved back to Red Onion. When CBS 6 asked VADOC about the most recent transfer, we received a statement saying in part:
"The facility meets the inmate’s security needs, along with meeting the safety and security of our corrections team and the incarcerated population."
Matthew is in protective custody at Keen Mountain Correctional Facility.
The Harrington family shared with CBS 6 investigative reporter Laura French that they were notified of the transfer when it took place and they have "concerns" that he is in a less secure facility and hope it’s not the beginning of a "rehabilitation" plan.
Morgan Harrington was abducted and murdered by Matthew in October 2009. Hannah Graham was abducted and murdered in September 2014, just weeks before Matthew's arrest near Galveston, Texas.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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