Police search for clues where remains found
ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. — The Virginia Department of Emergency Management canceled searches for the missing University of Virginia student that were scheduled for Sunday after human remains were discovered during the search Saturday.
In a statement the emergency management department said: "The outcome of a forensic investigation following Saturday's discovery in Albemarle County will determine the need for additional searches."
Authorities continued their investigation into Hannah Graham's disappearance Sunday and searched the abandoned property located where the remains were found Saturday.
Authorities interviewed nearby residents and picked through leaves searching for any clues or evidence.
The property is close to where suspect Jesse Matthew went to elementary school, according to authorities.
On Saturday, police deemed the investigation, a "death investigation."
There is no time frame on how long it will take to get the medical examiner results back, the Albemarle County Police Department said.
If authorities use DNA to identify the remains, the process could take weeks, forensic expert Jonathan Arden said. If dental records are used however, a positive identification can be made within hours, Arden said.
The deputy who found the remains said he found a skull, scattered bones, no hair and no flesh.
Arden said it is highly unusual for a body to become a skeleton in this climate and time frame.
Graham, 18, disappeared early Sept. 13 in Charlottesville, Va.
"This is a level of decomposition that is far in excess of what I would expect for roughly a month in this climate," Arden said.
He said the state of the remains opens the door that they could belong to someone else.
"I'm highly concerned that these may be the remains of a different person because in this kind of climate, it commonly takes six to nine months and sometimes longer for a body to skeletonize essentially completely."
The remains were discovered roughly 6 miles from where the body of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington was found three months after she vanished in 2009.
Police have said forensic evidence connects Matthew to Harrington's killing, which in turn is linked by DNA to a 2005 sexual assault in northern Virginia. Matthew hasn't been charged in those cases.
Albemarle County Police Department spokesman Carter Johnson said Sunday no additional information regarding the investigation was available.
Friends last saw Graham the evening of Sept. 12. The second-year, straight-A student vanished in the early hours of Sept. 13 after leaving an off-campus party.
She was seen on Charlottesville businesses' surveillance video, and witnesses saw her with Matthew, 32, of Charlottesville. Matthew was arrested Sept. 24 as he camped on a beach near Galveston, Texas.
Officers found black pants similar to those Graham was wearing the night she went missing in the vicinity during the search, according to police.
As the investigation continues the suspect in the Graham case, Matthew is in Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, charged with intent to defile, a felony that under Virginia law compels suspects to submit to DNA testing. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Dec. 4.
If the remains found Saturday are identified as Graham's, the charges against Matthew are subject to change.
Mark Schamel, a Washington defense attorney, said he believes the state of Virginia "definitely has a murder case" against Matthew, and noted that even if the remains found are not identified as Graham the state has had a number of murder cases without a body.
Many people said they hoped the identification of the remains brings closure to Graham's friends and family.
"Everybody was rattled. Everybody knew it was coming, but you still hope for the best. As much as you can prepare for it, you can never prepare for it," said Claire Meyers, a University of Virginia nursing student who has friends who knew Graham and Matthew.
Contributing: Bryan Alexander, Paste BN; The Associated Press