The "person of interest" in the case of Hannah Graham, the missing UVA student, admits that he bought her drinks at a local bar, but denies he drove off with her in his car, The Daily Mail reported on Saturday.
Jesse "LJ" Matthew, 32, admitted that he met the 18-year-old second year student in Charlottesville's Downtown Mall on the night she went missing and bought her drinks at a bar.
But Matthew, a nursing assistant at UVA Hospital, told his mother that Graham did not get into his car and that the pair "went their separate ways."
"He said he went his way and she went hers. He told his mother he bought her some drinks. He said she did not get into his car," said Christine Carr, Matthew's grandmother.
Matthew has lived in Charlottesville his entire life, and works in the operating room of the UVA Hospital. He is a nursing assistant who brings patients to the operating room.
Carr said she immediately recognized her grandson when she watched the security camera footage released by police investigating Graham's disappearance.
Carr also said that Matthew had a live-in girlfriend, but doesn't know if they couple is still together, according to Georgia News Day.
Matthew's car was searched by police after it was found parked outside a housing complex on Hessian Hills Way, where Matthew lives.
Officers spent all day Friday pouring over Matthew's apartment a short distance outside Charlottesville, about 3 miles from the Downtown Mall where Graham was last seen.
Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo said investigators were looking for hair, blood and fibers in the two-bedroom apartment in Hessian Hills Way, Albemarle County.
Law enforcement officials have issued multiple warrants for properties within Charlottesville. Names and other details of the warrants remain sealed for up to 180 days, unless the judge changes the terms of the ruling.
