VA - Hannah Elizabeth Graham, 18, Charlottesville, 13 Sept 2014 - #10

[cluciano63]

Whoever murdered and/or abducted Hannah is the last person to have seen her before she "stepped off the fave of the earth." Clearly, Longo believe this is JM. Now he has to prove it and so far, he has not been able to even come up with a charge that would keep him in jail for more than a day or two. So to me that is a very strong statement made too early in a case without arrests. He told the world he thinks JM killed Hannah, Imo. That is how I took it. I just can't recall a police chief saying that so
early in a case with evidence not even processed as yet. I found it alarming and unprofessional, but jmo.

 

[Galadriel]

"Stepped off the face of the earth" was a very poor choice of words in my opinion. Reasonable people could interpret that as a factual disclosure on the one hand or an emotional outburst on the other. Either way, not very helpful under the circumstances. Again, IMO.

Minor clarification: Longo said "vanished," not "stepped." (I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I just transcribed his words verbatim, so it's still fresh in my mind.)

 

[trigger]

Here is a good interview with Chief Longo on Fox News this morning.

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/09/2...sappearance-‘we-want-talk-jesse-matthew

 

[RSC]

Do you have a link for this? (the fact that he was actually provided with an attorney)

POI was provided an attorney at the police station on Saturday and he still left w/o speaking with police. So using the excuse that it is wise not to speak w/o an attorney present has run its course, IMO. He has been provided an attorney at his request, so now he needs to speak. I'm sure when they spoke to him during the car search warrant it was not in depth and was more like, "we've got a warrant to search your car, so we're doing that now." Otherwise they wouldn't be so desperate to speak to him again.

 

[doughgirl07]

OFPS...let an old lady have a senior moment.

Hahaaha. It's not you, it's just a recurring thing here, Heather instead of Hannah. I believe people just want to catch it quick before others take off with the wrong name too. It can be catching sometimes ��

 

[Dixie811]

Whoever murdered and/or abducted Hannah is the last person to have seen her before she "stepped off the fave of the earth." Clearly, Longo believe this is JM. Now he has to prove it and so far, he has not been able to even come up with a charge that would keep him in jail for more than a day or two. So to me that is a very strong statement made too early in a case without arrests. He told the world he thinks JM killed Hannah, Imo. That is how I took it. I just can't recall a police chief saying that so
early in a case with evidence not even processed as yet. I found it alarming and unprofessional, but jmo.

I agree. If nothing significant comes back in the forensic results they'd better have a plan to continue investigating and find Hannah other than holding passionate press conferences, inciting public anger.

 

[lateott]

I don't know if this POI was the last person to be seen with Heather or not...but FPS, he walks into a police station, demands an attorney then walks out without any explanation? There's a girl missing here!!! If that is in fact him in the video...then tell LE what "little" he knows. That's what an upstanding citizen would do. If it wasn't him, then say...hey that's not me. But to say NOTHING when there's someone's child who is out there lost, no, sorry...I'm not particularly interested in what happens to Mr. Matthew. jmo

I think he didn't walk into a police station to demand an attorney.

If you wanted an attorney where would you go? I would go to an attorney's office. (Or the yellow pages.)

I think he walked into a police station to provide information about the minutes he spent with HG that night. I think he will never try that again, especially after that press conference.

ETA: Or, he walked in to try to get his car back...?

 

[gitana1]

I know folks in this thread have this POI convicted for every crime that ever happened remotely in this vicinity. But I haven't seen the police actually mention anything to suggest that this guy actually killed this victim. The minute the police found even a drop of evidence implicating him, they would immediately issue a warrant for his arrest. The fact that they apparently found no obvious clues, not a single hair, blood drop, etc. during the first search and have to re-search, and still no arrest warrant for murder, makes me doubt there is any viable claim against this guy.

I also worry that if the pd is barking up the wrong tree, that someone who truly may have been involved in her disappearance may have gotten away with destroying evidence etc. The reason I am skeptical is because this case strongly reminds me of a death penalty case I briefly worked on where the conviction was overturned with dna evidence. I won't get into those details but the cops were essentially lazy and rather than do an involved investigation and follow all leads, they picked the easiest guy to pin a case on.

That's not true. They need more than a drop of evidence for an arrest, typically. They often need more than probable cause. We've seen that in several cases. Usually, they want to find the body first.

You have to understand that the statutory clock starts ticking the moment they charge someone. And what can they charge this guy with without a body? It's difficult toc harge murder without a body, even with forensic evidence like blood, in his car, for example.

Gitana,
I am not an attorney and am not even an experienced sleuther.

My comment about potential defamation of the POI is in regards to the comments made about how, regardless of the POI is guilty or innocent, his life has been irreparably damaged.

He will find great difficulty finding a job from here on out. This will greatly impact his already unenviable financial situation. His image has been destroyed, his roommates moved out, and people are likely ending his friendships with him. He's essentially been exiled from Charlottesville. The future doesn't look good for him. This can be attributed to Charlottesville LE's comments broadcast on live television. With no grounds to arrest him or no technical grounds to classify him as a suspect.
Maybe I have the wrong legal notion of defamation, but if this isn't a prime example, what is?

I am not taking sides. Objectively I just see this case as tainted.

Defamation is a false statement. In other words, it has to be a lie, purposefully published/communicated. Statements of opinion or belief, "I want to talk to him because I believe he may be the last person with Hannah", are not defamatory even if untrue.

You have to remember, Chief Longo is an attorney. He knows the rules. He's not going to cross lines.

 

[Elley Mae]

“Jesse Matthew showed up at the police station yesterday, walked right through the front door with a couple family members,” Longo said. “He got inside and asked for a lawyer. We found him one. He talked to a lawyer and … they walked out the door. And I don’t know any more know than I did before about his interaction with Hannah Graham.”

Police said Matthew was seen speeding from the area within 15 minutes of leaving the station, and they have issued a warrant against him for reckless driving.

http://www.insidenova.com/headlines...cle_865681c2-4040-11e4-a18b-0710e0693940.html

bbm

 

[Emaa]

So no-one should ever speak to the police? How would cases ever move forward if everyone took that attitude? He could have a lawyer there with him. He could hold massively important information that could progress this case, and if he's innocent lead LE to the real culprit (if there is one and Hannah hasn't just had a tragic accident).

He has no obligation to help police build a case against him.

For a moment, assume he IS innocent and they indeed went their separate ways after Tempo's. BUT he remained the last person seen with Hannah "before she vanished off the face of the earth". Do you really believe the police would move on and scratch him off their suspect list?

 

[potatoes13]

Probably no relevant, but when I had to renew my license this year I could have done it online and used the photo on record, but I've lost a substantial amount of weight so I wanted a new photo and was willing to wait an hour to get it. Perhaps he felt the same about his new hair?

 

[msteach]

On my way to work this morning, they were interviewing Clint Van Zandt, retired FBI profiler. He gave some really good insight, I thought. Brought up several things -- Longo's emotional press conferences (he said that he has never seen anything like it), Richard Jewell, predators on college campuses, how college students should always have a wingman, JM's exercising his constitutional right not to talk to police, etc. He didn't come out and say 'I sure hope that they know what they are doing...but (to me, anyway), that was part of the underlying message early in the interview. EXCELLENT INTERVIEW AND INSIGHT! Well worth the time to listen.

http://www.1140wrva.com/media/podcast-jimmy-barrett-RMNPodcasts/hannah-graham-person-of-interest-25324243/

 

[cluciano63]

POI was provided an attorney at the police station on Saturday and he still left w/o speaking with police. So using the excuse that it is wise not to speak w/o an attorney present has run its course, IMO. He has been provided an attorney at his request, so now he needs to speak. I'm sure when they spoke to him during the car search warrant it was not in depth and was more like, "we've got a warrant to search your car, so we're doing that now." Otherwise they wouldn't be so desperate to speak to him again.

Imo all a lawyer is going to do is possibly make a statement that his client parted from Hannah at the end of the mall, after having a drink in Tempo.(or, depending on forensics, that they went to his apartment and had consensual,sex maybe.) He would say he has no knowledge of her whereabouts after that point. And would advise his client not to answer any pointed questions. Nothing useful would emerge, Imo. LE wants to lock him into a statement; I don't blame them, but I think it is too late now. He is not going to give them one. Jmo

 

[Samantharock]

 

[bakerlady]

Do you have a link for this? (the fact that he was actually provided with an attorney)

Chief Longo said it in the press conference. http://www.nbc12.com/story/26588386/watch-live-press-conference-on-hannah-graham-search

He said an attorney came and spoke with him for several minutes.

 

[Dixie811]

I think he didn't walk into a police station to demand an attorney.

If you wanted an attorney where would you go? I would go to an attorney's office. (Or the yellow pages.)

I think he walked into a police station to provide information about the minutes he spent with HG that night. I think he will never try that again, especially after that press conference.

If JM ever had an inkling that he wanted to talk after retaining or an attorney, or if there were ever a chance that LE could approach him as if they believe he was a 'witness' but just need all the information he can provide and his DNA (to get his guard down & lock him into a story)... that chance is long gone now thanks to the pressers.

 

[Le Singe]

I think there is a mix here. Some are certain JM is a perp in this case simply because he would not cooperate with LE. This happens a lot when people lawyer up, refuse to take police lie detector tests, evoke the 5th, or do anything that isn't open armed and free talk. But many of us are also repeatedly bringing up the fact, that it is his right, your right, our right, to act this way, and sometimes is the wise thing to do, and does not necessarily mean one is guilty.

RSBM

Many suspect people if they don't talk, b/c they are not talking. Then if they do talk they tear apart every little thing they say and facial expression they make to have reason to suspect. You can't win for losing which is in part why it's a good idea to not say anything to the cops or the media (or your buddies, cellmate, etc.). I know some people would say if your innocent what do you have to fear, but when they show up looking for you with a warrant to search your @#$& and you're a demographic that has been know to be railroaded and not given the benefit of the doubt then you can be pretty damn sure there not there thinking you're innocent, or that they're looking to give you the benefit of the doubt. If I was him I wouldn't say jack to anyone but my lawyer and I would follow whatever they told me to do.

Note - I currently have no opinion on whether the POI is guilty or not just speaking generally.

 

[Skigirl]

POI was provided an attorney at the police station on Saturday and he still left w/o speaking with police. So using the excuse that it is wise not to speak w/o an attorney present has run its course, IMO. He has been provided an attorney at his request, so now he needs to speak. I'm sure when they spoke to him during the car search warrant it was not in depth and was more like, "we've got a warrant to search your car, so we're doing that now." Otherwise they wouldn't be so desperate to speak to him again.

He wasn't "provided" with an attorney, in the sense that it was not one who he was given access to for free advice or a public defender who was assigned to him. Longo said last night during the press conference that he did not know if that attorney had been retained. Unless the person he spoke with offered to take the case pro-bono -- and we have no evidence either way -- JM may not have had the money to sign up the attorney on the spot and start talking to the police. I don't know that an attorney, if retained, would have wanted to have his or her client immediately start talking until s/he had a chance to familiarize him/herself with the details. Anyway, I don't know any better than anyone else what went on between him and the attorney, but I do know that it's not quite accurate to say one was provided to him.

 

[jamicat]

To my knowledge, public defenders don't sit around the station waiting for clients to wander in. The police probably let him know that he could contact the public defender's office to get an appt with an attorney. So then he left. That's how it works in my state.

In my neck of the woods, there are attorneys galore looking for business when courts open for business. The give anyone with no representation cards, ask if you need representation. That's how a number of attorneys get a good part of their business. If the police station is near a court, there would be no problem getting one these lawyers to come around, and the prospect of a high profile trial would have them smacking their lips as most of the fare is penny ante stuff. If they can be named PD for this case if and when it hits, they'd get exposure, free publicity and a guaranteed flow of income while the case is going, instead of having to scavenge little cases here and there, competing with a slew of other lawyers.

 

[Galadriel]

Do you have a link for this? (the fact that he was actually provided with an attorney)

Stated in 9/21 press conference. On this link, it's at 0:07:44.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LFnk3i2N4Y