WASHINGTON -The death of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham has been ruled a homicide.
Albemarle County police released her cause and manner of death late Tuesday afternoon after earlier reports surfaced that investigators did not want the autopsy results known publicly.
The cause of her death was ruled as homicidal violence of an undetermined nature.
Graham, a University of Virginia sophomore, disappeared in the early morning hours of Sept. 13. Her remains were found more than a month later behind an empty home in Albemarle County.
Jesse Matthew has been charged in connection with Graham’s disappearance.
Carter Johnson, a spokesperson for Albemarle police, says a final autopsy report has not been issued, but police have been advised of the medical examiner’s findings.
Police say they “remain committed to the investigation.”
Earlier in the day, the Albemarle County Police Department referred questions about the autopsy report to the county commonwealth’s attorney’s office.
Matthew’s defense attorney, Jim Camblos, tells WTOP he has not yet received a copy of the medical examiner’s findings.
Matthew is charged with the abduction of Graham from Charlottesville. He also has a March trial date set to face charges that he sexually assaulted a woman in Fairfax City in 2005.
DNA evidence from that case is tied to the death of another university student, Morgan Harrington, who disappeared in Charlottesville in 2009.
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- Matthew pleads not guilty in assault case
- Va. bartenders look for red flags in light of Graham case
- Hannah Graham Live Blog
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on Facebook.
