WASHINGTON – A crowdsourcing fund for the defense of the man accused of abducting a missing university student has been disabled just days after its creation.
Jesse Matthew’s family and friends started the fund on the website Fund Razr to assist with the costs of his legal defense.
A note posted on site Monday afternoon said that the page has been disabled because of inappropriate behavior, including threats.
Some posts earlier in the day included threats against Matthew’s life, others commented on his guilt or innocence and some posters called him a “monster” and other names.
Matthew is believed to be the last person to see 18-year-old Hannah Graham, the missing University of Virginia sophomore from Fairfax County.
“Whether you are a friend of (Matthew), or a believer in the right to a trial by jury and due process, this fund’s goal is to assist (Matthew) and his attorney in defending him against these charges and any future charges related to the Hannah Graham matter,” the post on the website says.
The site had raised more than $1,800 toward a $50,000 goal as of Monday afternoon.
The crowdfunding effort was launched Sept. 27 — the day after Matthew was returned from Texas where he was found on a beach near Galveston.
He is being held without bond at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail and is expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday to face a charge of abduction with intent to defile.
Any money raised would go toward court costs, attorney fees, expert witness fees or investigator fees, according to a post on the site, which referred to the 32-year-old as “LJ.”
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