Report: Cops seize Matthew's taxi in Morgan Harrington probe

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Jesse Matthew, the abduction suspect in University of Virginia student Hannah Graham's disappearance, was working as a taxi driver the night slain Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington vanished nearly five years ago, sources told CBS affiliate WTVR.

WTVR was the first to report that authorities say forensic evidence links Matthew to Harrington, who disappeared after a rock concert on the U.Va. campus Oct. 17, 2009. Her remains were found three months later on a farm in rural Albemarle County.

Sources told the station that Matthew was one of the cab drivers on the road the night Harrington vanished. Forensics indicated Harrington and Matthew had "some kind of contact" that night, WTVR reported last month.

Matthew, 32, is charged with abduction with intent to defile in Graham's Sept. 13 disappearance. Graham, 18, vanished after attending two off-campus house parties and sending a text to a friend that she was lost. Police say they believe she was with Matthew on Charlottesville's downtown pedestrian mall, and may have been in his car when he left.

Matthew was arrested days later after a tipster who spotted him camping on a beach near Galveston, Texas called police.

As the search continues for Graham, investigators are probing whether Matthew could be tied to more unsolved murders and disappearances in the state, including Harrington's.

The cab Matthew drove in 2009 was seized from a farm two weeks ago as part of the investigation, sources told WTVR. The station reports at least 20 cab employees from around Charlottesville are being interviewed by investigators to learn more about the night Harrington, 20, went missing after leaving the John Paul Jones area.

Two years ago, the FBI said DNA evidence showed that Harrington's killer also was responsible for a 2005 rape in northern Virginia, so Matthew could be linked to that assault as well, although City of Fairfax police declined to comment, citing their ongoing investigation.

Police released a sketch of that suspect, though no arrests have been made.

Matthew was also investigated on complaints of sex assault at two universities he attended, CBS News reported, though he was never charged.

Matthews is jailed in Charlottesville without bond after being extradited from Texas in the Hannah Graham case.