UVa suspect doesn’t challenge extradition in Texas

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — The man suspected of abducting a missing University of Virginia student will be heading back to Virginia to face charges.

At a brief court hearing today in Texas — where he was arrested yesterday — Jesse Matthew didn’t challenge his extradition.

He’d apparently spent several nights camping on a beach before his arrest. According to a person familiar with the search for Hannah Graham, authorities had been concerned that Matthew would try to cross into Mexico.

The 32-year-old former college football player was captured less than a day after he was charged with “abduction with intent to defile” Graham — an 18-year-old sophomore who disappeared on September 13th in Charlottesville.

The police chief in Charlottesville says the case is “nowhere near over” — and that the “long road ahead” includes the search for the missing student. Owners of rural and wooded areas around Charlottesville are being urged to examine their properties for any signs her. And authorities in Texas have now joined the search as well.

%@AP Links

158-a-04-(Judge Mark Henry, Galveston County, at news conference)-“for a fact”-Galveston County Judge Mark Henry says Virginia probably will want to prosecute the suspect. (25 Sep 2014)

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156-a-09-(Judge Mark Henry, Galveston County, at news conference)-“giving false information”-Galveston County Judge Mark Henry says the suspect faces charges in both Virginia and Texas. (25 Sep 2014)

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APPHOTO TXDP108: Jill Howard, left, and her stepdaughter Martie Belt, talk about the arrest of Leroy Matthew Jr. as they walk along the beach Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, near Gilchrist, Texas, on the Bolivar Peninsula. Matthew Jr. was arrested on a beach in the Texas community of Gilchrist by Galveston County Sheriff’s authorities, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo announced Wednesday night Sept. 24, 2014. He is charged with abducting missing University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham and is awaiting extradition. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (25 Sep 2014)

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APPHOTO TXDP106: CORRECTS LOCATION TO GALVESTON, NOT LEAGUE CITY – Leroy Matthew Jr. is escorted into a courtroom for an appearance before 405th District Court Judge Michelle Slaughter regarding his extradition back to Virginia, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, in Galveston, Texas. Matthew Jr. was arrested on a beach in the Texas community of Gilchrist by Galveston County Sheriff’s authorities Wednesday night Sept. 24, 2014. He is charged with abducting missing University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham and is awaiting extradition. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (25 Sep 2014)

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