News that the man serving life in prison for the murders of Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington had cancer and was being transferred from a 鈥渟upermax鈥� prison to receive treatment came as a surprise to most people, but not to Richmond, Virginia, television reporter Laura French.
Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. told her himself.
French had conducted two telephone interviews with Matthew 鈥� the first since he was sentenced to four life sentences in 2015 for the 2014 murder of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham and the 2009 murder of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.
In addition, Matthew was sentenced to three life sentences for the 2005 rape and attempted murder of a woman in Fairfax, Virginia.
Graham, of Fairfax County, and Harrington were each abducted in Charlottesville and buried in neighboring Albemarle County.
鈥淚 had been writing Jesse Matthew since the day he entered a plea deal on the Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington cases,鈥� French said. She is in her fifth year with Richmond鈥檚 CBS affiliate WTVR, after working and living for a decade in Charlottesville.
鈥淚t was a one-way relationship, where I was writing him constantly in prison,鈥� French said. The only time she received any response was about a year ago. 鈥淎 Virginia Department of Corrections official contacted me to say he acknowledged my letters, and he would think about my request for an interview, but would have to discuss it with his family and attorney,鈥� French said.
Then, nothing.
鈥淚n the first week of May, I received an email from the Department of Corrections saying, ‘Jesse Matthew has accepted your request for an interview, when would you like to set this up,’鈥� French said. 鈥淚, of course, was completely in shock. I didn鈥檛 think that day would ever come.鈥�
French knew there was no chance of an in-person, on-camera interview with Matthew.
鈥淩ed Onion State Prison does not allow any recording devices. It鈥檚 a 鈥榮upermax鈥� facility and that was just not an option,鈥� French said. 鈥淛ust to go tour it inside, so I could tell viewers what it was like, they had turned every request down.鈥�
French set up a telephone interview, to speak with Matthew on Wednesday, May 8, at 1:15 p.m.
In the CBS 6 studio, technicians set up cameras to record French鈥檚 questions and reactions, and Matthew鈥檚 answers.
鈥淭hey called me. You hear it on the recording, 鈥楾his is the Department of Corrections. This call will be recorded.鈥� They were recording on their end, we were recording on our end. In fact, we had backups,鈥� French said.
鈥淗e was the first to talk. He said, ‘Hello.’ I said, ‘Hello, Mr. Matthew, thank you for the opportunity to interview you.'” But when Matthew started speaking, French could barely hear him.
鈥淥ur technical people were saying, ‘We can鈥檛 understand him,'” French said. 鈥淚 asked if he could get closer to the phone, but I knew we really didn鈥檛 have much control (of the technical situation) over there.鈥�
While French sat in her studio, Matthew鈥檚 setup was very different.
鈥淗e鈥檚 in this 8-by-10 cell. There鈥檚 a little slat in the door of that cell. They put the offender phone through that slat, and that鈥檚 how he talked to me. He was still in his cell. This was not an opportunity to stretch out a little and get a break from his cell. They stick the offender phone through the cell, and that was his means of communicating with me.鈥�
As French began to immediately delve into her questions, Matthew wasn鈥檛 ready for that.
“He said, ‘I really don鈥檛 know anything about you. I鈥檇 like to get to know you. Where are you from?'”
French ticked off her credentials as an investigative reporter, and experiences in Richmond and Charlottesville. She was a consultant on broadcast about the Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington murders. (Editor’s Note: 海角精品黑料’s Neal Augenstein was a consultant on the same broadcast)
“He kind of made small talk, like, ‘I鈥檓 going to have to get to know you,'” French recalled. “He used the word rapport. ‘We鈥檙e going to have to develop a rapport before I answer all your questions.'”
Matthew asked French what she intended to do with the interview.
“I told him the reason I have reached out to you all these years, and written all these letters, is because I made a promise to one of your victims, the family of Morgan Harrington, that I would never give up trying to speak to you,鈥� French said. 鈥淭hey feel you hold information that could prevent future crimes, and they鈥檝e made it their mission, through this nonprofit, to help save the next girl.”
Shortly after their daughter鈥檚 murder, Gil and Dan Harrington established 鈥� a personal safety advocacy group.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 make him any promises on how we were going to use it because honestly, we weren鈥檛 sure we were going to use it鈥� on the air, she said.
French said she was hoping to secure a series of interviews to use in a documentary.
Toward the end of the May 8 interview, Matthew dropped a bombshell: 鈥淚 just now found out that I have cancer,鈥� he told her.
With the poor quality of the phone connection, French made sure she had heard correctly, asking Matthew, 鈥淛esse, did you just say that you have cancer?鈥� He confirmed it.
French asked what kind of cancer, and what his prognosis was, but Matthew was evasive.
French thought perhaps Matthew was trying to get sympathy.
“He said, ‘I just learned and until I get more information, I鈥檓 not going to be talking about this,'” French said. “So, to me, I didn鈥檛 know that I could trust he was being truthful about his diagnosis.”
One week later, during their second interview on May 15, Matthew continued to avoid answering many questions directly.
Asked if he was sorry, Matthew responded, “I don鈥檛 know if I can answer that question right now, truthfully. Maybe in another interview.”
Matthew said he was a religious man. “Even though I didn鈥檛 practice the way I should have been practicing,” he told French, adding that he “stepped away from Christ for a while.”
French was perplexed about Matthew鈥檚 answers.
“I don鈥檛 know how he thinks. What do you have to lose by showing remorse, if you even have it,” French said. “You鈥檙e never getting out. Nothing鈥檚 going to change. Even if you鈥檙e dying. To me 鈥� a normal human being, who doesn鈥檛 break the law 鈥� why not say you鈥檙e sorry? Why not show remorse? I don鈥檛 know.”
Still, French wasn鈥檛 planning on reporting that Matthew said he had cancer, or that he was granting his first interviews ever.
But several people knew what story she was working on.
“I鈥檇 contacted both families involved. I contacted law enforcement. Because I wanted to see whose blessings I had鈥� in conducting the interviews, she said. “I had everyone鈥檚 blessings, except for the family of Hannah Graham.”
French said Gil and Dan Harrington believed questioning Matthew could provide some answers about the criminal mind.
“Gil likened it to cancer 鈥� she鈥檚 a cancer nurse,” said French. “She said we鈥檝e always researched cancer to find a cure. It鈥檚 the same kind of thing.”
And, it was a text from Gil that changed Laura French鈥檚 plans on when to report about her interview with Matthew.
“She鈥檇 been told he had stage 4 colon cancer, and was being transferred out of Red Onion to another prison to get treatment,” French said.
French confirmed Matthew had been transferred from Red Onion to Sussex One State Prison in Waverly, Virginia, about an hour south of Richmond.
“When we found out he had cancer and had been transferred out of a supermax facility for treatment, we knew we had to go with it,” French said. “That was pushing our hand to go forward with what we had.”
聽quickly spread 鈥� the notorious killer of two college students who was serving the rest of his life in prison was seriously ill and had been moved out of the state鈥檚 highest security prison for treatment.
Some people weren鈥檛 interested in hearing what Jesse Matthew had to say.
“I鈥檝e had some hateful comments. I get it. He did some horrific things and he terrorized the community for more than a decade,” French said.
Still, French knew she had a job to do 鈥� both for her viewers, and in her mind, the Harrington family.
鈥淚 knew I was going to get some backlash because any time you give a voice to someone convicted of horrific crimes, there are going to be some people who disagree with it. I respect that.”
French believes she will have another chance to speak with Matthew.
“The last thing he said is he had more to say, and he鈥檇 be in touch by phone or email.”
Watch Laura French’s WTVR report:
