A man believed to be involved in the disappearance and death of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham pleaded not guilty on Friday in connection to a 2005 sexual assault, NBC News reported.
Jesse Matthew Jr., who has already been charged with Graham's abduction, pleaded not guilty Friday morning to three felony charges including attempted capital murder and sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman in Fairfax, Virginia.
The defendant allegedly grabbed the woman as she was walking home from a supermarket, dragged her into a wooded area and assaulted her, the station reported. He fled the area when a pedestrian approached.
Matthew was originally arrested in September and charged with abduction with intent to defile in connection to Graham, who disappeared Sept. 13 after a night out with friends. Surveillance footage from an outside mall in downtown Charlottesville suggests he was the last to be seen with the 18-year-old. Her remains were found last month on a farm about 10 miles from the outside mall.
Before Graham's body was found, investigators were able to forensically link Matthew, 32, to the Fairfax case and to the 2009 disappearance and death of a Virginia Tech student named Morgan Harrington.
A trial for Matthew has been scheduled for March 2015. More charges could be brought against him in the Graham case, according to WUSA-TV.
James Camblos, Matthew's lawyer, has ordered a psychiatric evaluation for his client.
