Remains found in Virginia ID'd as those of Hannah Graham, police confirm

DEVELOPING: – Remains found in a rural Virginia area have been identified as those of missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, authorities said Friday.

The Medical Examiner’s Office in Richmond said the remains discovered Oct. 18 about 12 miles from campus were those of Graham, who vanished from central Charlottesville on Sept. 13 after a night out with friends.

The man Graham was last seen with, 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., has been charged with abduction with intent to defile Graham.

Matthew's attorney, Jim Camblos, said in a voicemail greeting that he is not answering questions about the case.

Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford said in a statement that the focus of the investigation now is to determine "what charges will be brought and the appropriate time to make those charges."

"When we started this journey together we all hoped for a happier ending," Graham's parents, John and Sue Graham, said in a statement provided by the police department.

"Sadly that was not to be. ... We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter. ... Although we have lost our precious Hannah, the light she radiated can never be extinguished."

UVA president Teresa A. Sullivan issued a statement Friday night saying, "For Hannah's young life to end so tragically, and for her destiny of promise to be left unfulfilled, is an affront to the sanctity of life and to the natural order of human events.This is a sorrowful day in the life of the university, and our entire community is grieving with the Graham family."

Before the start of a men's soccer game between Virginia and Wake Forest on Friday night, the announcer at Klockner Stadium asked everyone to observe a moment of silence to "remember a young life cut short."

Graham's remains were discovered roughly six miles from where the body of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington was found 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 has been charged in the 2005 case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report