PART 1: HANNAH GRAHAM: DEADLY CONNECTIONS "48 HOURS:" A SLAIN STUDENT'S CASE UNLOCKS LONG-UNSOLVED CRIMES

Hannah Graham: Deadly Connections

"48 Hours:" A slain student's case unlocks long-unsolved crimes



The quaint, historic city of Charlottesville, Virginia, is home to the prestigious University of Virginia.


Hannah Elizabeth Graham, 18, loved it here. When she went missing on Sept. 13 2014, she had just started her second year.

A few days later, her distraught parents, Sue and John Graham, appealed for help.

"This is every parent's worst nightmare. I am certain that everybody... knows that what happened to Hannah could happen to their child," Hannah's father, John Graham, addressed reporters at a press conference. "Please, please help us."

The disappearance outraged the entire community, from fellow students to the police chief, Tim Longo.

"We are gonna continue our work, we are gonna continue to work relentlessly until we find Hannah Graham," he told reporters.

WTVR reporter Laura French, a "48 Hours" consultant, has followed this story from day one.



hannah-graham-softball770.jpg© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. hannah-graham-softball770.jpg  "We knew at that time ... that she had gone out to dinner with friends that night and that ...you know, like most college students, she had gone to a couple parties," French told "48 Hours correspondent Susan Spencer. "We know that after she left that party no one had heard from her other than a couple of text messages ... and that text at 1:06 a.m. was, you know, 'I'm trying to get to a party,' I believe, and 'I'm lost.'"

"'I'm lost?'" Spencer asked.

"It wasn't completely out of character that she'd be lost," French explained. "...here she moved into off campus housing. School had just started ... we were just a few weeks into the school year, and you know you can lose your bearings especially in and out of that downtown mall area."

"So this is the mall in Charlottesville, this the last place really where we see Hannah Graham?" Spencer asked French as they walked in the area.

"That's right, this is known as the downtown Charlottesville pedestrian mall and it is the last known image that we have of Hannah Graham on this mall," she replied.

"Popular place with the kids?" Spencer asked.

"You definitely see kids down here, but this is not what we would call 'the hang out,'" French replied.

British-born Hannah Graham moved with her parents to Virginia when she was 5 years old. Her friend, Leila Nasser, remembers her as super smart, musically gifted, and with a dry sense of humor.

"...she's one of those people who just knew who she was. Very much a go-getter," Nasser said. "She was very confident and driven."

"Hannah is - witty. ...And much smarter than any coach that was on the field," said her high school coach, Craig Maniglia.

Just shy of 6 feet tall, Hannah was a standout on the softball field.

"... as time went on she moved herself up to her senior year when she became captain of the team," Maniglia continued.

Vivacious, popular and talented. It's no surprise that Hannah Graham's disappearance exploded on social media. WTOP radio reporter Neal Augenstein, who worked with "48 Hours" on this investigation, was tweeting details almost by the minute.
"48 Hours" podcast: The Hannah Graham Story
"We've been able to tell it as it's developing,"Augenstein told Spencer. "With Twitter and online ... you can tell the little bits ... that caught ... your attention ... and add color, and perspective, and context to a story."

And the story became even more intriguing as video began to surface. Hannah can be seen at a UVA event only 10 days before she went missing. It's an eerie contrast to the grainy images of her caught on tape by surveillance cameras the night she disappeared.

"Well, the Hannah Graham case--resonated so much more with Charlottesville because, you know, she was living here in Charlottesville," said attorney and longtime Charlottesville resident Lloyd Snook.

Snook has been following the case closely.

"...her disappearance was reported within a day. ...They could track through various video cameras where she had gone," he told Spencer. "She had been downtown and the trail goes cold. Then she just vanished."
Watch: Tale of the tapes: Lawyer deconstructs last known images of Hannah Graham
Snook walked "48 Hours" through the videos of Hannah's last-known hours, starting as she leaves her apartment -- a normal kid out on Friday night.

"So, this is McGrady's, this was a restaurant and you'll see Hannah Graham coming in from the left, lower left. She's highlighted ... now I'm gonna stop that because, you know, that stumble to some people who watch this is very telling," Spencer noted to Snook as they watched surveillance tape.

"She seems a little unsteady on her feet both here and later in the video. She's coming from the direction that you would come from if you were coming from the University of Virginia," he replied.

"And then after a few minutes we see her, she re-emerges. And what do you think this was all about?" Spencer asked.

"My guess, purely a guess, is that she went by McGrady's to see if a friend was in there who might buy her a drink or somethin' like that," said Snook.
Watch: Hannah Graham's last moments caught on tape
Police believe Hannah had been drinking that night. She's next seen on video from a nearby gas station.

"And this time, I mean she is running," Spencer pointed out. "...and who knows what that means."

"You know ... it is really hard to say," Snook replied. "It's not a particularly dangerous neighborhood; it's a well lit area."

"And I think the cops have looked at this and there doesn't appear to be anybody running after her," Spencer noted.

"Right," Snook said. "She's going down toward the mall."



The man believed last seen with Hannah Graham© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. The man believed last seen with Hannah Graham  

"You'll notice he's a pretty distinctive looking guy. He's a big man and he's got dreads," Snook pointed out. "It's kind of obvious why people would notice him over the course of the next half hour."

"He disappears briefly and then we see Hannah. She's by herself," said Spencer.

But soon, the man makes a U-turn and then reappears -- now walking in Hannah's direction, keeping behind several other people.

"You see a pretty big guy there," Snook continued. "...and at that point he's probably 20, 30 yards behind Hannah."

The last video, from a jewelry store camera, shows Hannah and the unidentified man now walking side by side.

"And they seem to walking in sync, together," said Snook.


The last known video of Hannah Graham was taken at 1:08 a.m. outside of a jewelry store© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. The last known video of Hannah Graham was taken at 1:08 a.m. outside of a jewelry store  
"Very strange to ... watch two people on videotape and realize how much their lives are gonna change," Augenstein said. "You can only imagine what was going on in her mind. You can only imagine what was going on in -- in his mind. "

There is no video from Hannah's last known stop.

"So this is the Tempo bar, this is the last place that she was seen in public," Spencer said to French as they stood outside the building.

"In public, no images of her," she replied. "...but the police say that several eyewitnesses put her inside that bar with the suspect."

"...If that young lady's touched your life in any way, you have the responsibility to help us find her," a passionate Chief Longo told reporters.

"Somebody knows what happened to Hannah. We don't know who that is... but somebody knows what happened to Hannah," her father, John Graham, told reporters.

That somebody, police think, may well be that man on tape who made the odd U-turn to walk in Hannah's direction.
FORENSIC TIES
News of Hannah Graham's disappearance put normally peaceful Charlottesville on high alert.

"I definitely thought differently walking to my car at night, having worked in that area," WTVR reporter Laura French told Spencer. "You know, I wanna make -- to make sure-- you know, when I was leaving after a newscast at 11:30 at night, that there was someone watching me walk to my car. It was definitely on the back of everyone's minds."

Also on the back of everyone's mind, the events of five years earlier when another young woman simply vanished off these streets.

"2009, you have this Virginia Tech student, Morgan Harrington, who is last seen at a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena," said French.


Morgan Harrington, 20, a student at Virginia Tech, was known for her artistic, energetic and fun-loving personality.© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. Morgan Harrington, 20, a student at Virginia Tech, was known for her artistic, energetic and fun-loving personality.  
It was the last time her parents, Gil and Dan Harrington, would see their daughter alive.

"Morgan had come to spend the weekend with us, which was not unusual, and was really excited about the Metallica concert," said Gil Harrington.

"How long was it before you were aware that anything at all was wrong?" Spencer asked.

"On Sunday morning, about 11:00 ... I received a call from the University of Virginia police who informed me that Morgan's purse had been found in a parking lot," said Dan Harrington.

"I knew that minute something terrible had -- had happened," said Gil Harrington.

"And Morgan, you knew, was gone," added Dan Harrington.

Lindsay Crisp grew up with Morgan. They were friends since elementary school.

"Morgan was like the moon. ...she was reflecting the light that was in the world," she said. "Wherever she walked in, there was a shift in the energy."

"Morgan was a lotta fun, you know?" her mother said. "She had -- finally reached that point in life where we had an adult relationship with her. And it was really an exciting, very gratifying point in time."

"She was someone who loved art and music, did not like math and science which is -- we are math and science people," said Morgan's father.

Crisp was in Europe when Morgan went missing, only to come home to a terrible shock.

"My parents stood me in the den and they said, 'We need to let you know Morgan's gone. She's been missing for 10 days,'" she said. "It felt like there was no hope in that moment. And so I just ran upstairs and cried."

Investigators had little to work with. At one point, Morgan had left her friends, something had happened, and she ended up outside the arena.

"Morgan left to go to the restroom and ... we have a witness that Morgan was bleeding from an injury on her face ... so we assume that at some point between the seat and the restroom, Morgan fell," Dan Harrington explained. "And then the next thing we heard was that Morgan had left the building ... and they wouldn't let her back in."

"There was a report that she was seen hitchhiking. Does that make sense to you?" Spencer asked.

"It does now," Dan Harrington replied. "She was reported to be confused ... and 'how's Morgan gonna get home?'"

Morgan Harrington was last seen on Copley Bridge -- alone, on foot, and possibly injured. Unable to get back into the concert, she may have decided to simply find her own way to her friend's apartment, a casual decision that likely cost her her life.

"I think Morgan was impaired," Gil Harrington told Spencer. "I think she-- she was injured. She was not thinking clearly."

"I think that someone driving a taxi cab stopped and Morgan felt safe and got in. And I think the rest is history," said Dan Harrington.

"But this is your theory about the cab driver?" Spencer asked.

"That's my theory," Dan Harrington replied.

"Nobody actually saw a cab?"

"No."

"Or saw her get into a cab?"

"No. No," he said.

Within days, Morgan's disappearance was dominating the local news and social media. And, as with Hannah Graham years later, the community responded.

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