[9] According to surveillance footage and witness testimony, among the last places Graham was seen was at Tempo Restaurant with Jesse Leroy "LJ" Matthew Jr., a 32-year-old man and person of interest.

As Graham was standing by a vehicle identified to be Matthew's orange 1998 Chrysler Sebring, the witness heard her say, "I'm not getting in that car with you!

[18] On November 18, The Washington Post reported that a cause for Graham's death was determined but was withheld at the request of law enforcement.

[19] Later that day, the Albemarle County Police Department reversed course, releasing that Graham died of homicide by an "undetermined etiology".

[3][20] On September 19, the local police identified a man they described as a "person of interest" whom they saw on surveillance cameras leaving a bar with Graham.

[24] Police described the searches as a major break in the case and offered a US$100,000 reward (equivalent to $129,000 in 2023) for information relating to Graham's disappearance.

[27] On September 24, Longo, during a joint press conference with the FBI, announced that the suspect had been arrested in a sparsely populated part of Galveston County, Texas, after being recognized by a woman on a beach.

[37] On February 10, 2015, Albemarle County commonwealth's attorney Denise Lunsford announced that Matthew was being indicted for first-degree murder of Graham, in addition to the abduction charges.

[34] On October 20, 2014, Matthew was indicted on charges of attempted murder, object sexual penetration, and abduction with intent to defile from an incident that occurred in September 2005 in Fairfax, Virginia.

[45] On February 18, Matthew appeared in court, where Albemarle County Circuit Judge Cheryl Higgins scheduled his jury trial to begin on June 29.

[50] The World Bank also holds an annual award for innovations to reduce gender-based violence held in memory of Graham.

[51] The Hannah E. Graham Memorial Scholarship was created in 2021 in honor of her dedication and participation in softball leagues around Northern Virginia.