FAIRFAX, Va., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Jesse Matthew, the suspect accused in the abduction and death of University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham, pleaded not guilty to charges related to a 2005 rape Friday morning.
Matthew faces felony counts of attempted murder, rape and sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman identified as "R.G." in court documents in Fairfax county on Oct. 24, 2005.
R.G. has never been identified, and she does not live in the U.S. But Friday, prosecutors said they are in "constant communication" with her and she is "prepared to testify."
A judge set the trial date for March 9, 2015. Matthew appeared in the Fairfax courtroom Friday morning, and will be returned to Charlottesville, where he is awaiting a Dec. 4 hearing on the Hannah Graham charges.
Matthew is accused of grabbing R.G. as she walked home from the supermarket, forcing her into a wooded area and assaulting her. Her attacker fled when a passerby approached.
The DNA collected from under the woman's fingernails matched Matthew's to an extremely high degree of confidence, prosecutors have said. Forensic analysis had previously linked the case to the 2009 abduction and murder of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.
Matthew's arrest in connection with Graham's disappearance provided law enforcement with the DNA evidence to implicate him both cases.
Harrington's body was found on a farm southwest of Charlottesville, and on Oct. 18, investigators discovered Graham's remains on another abandoned property just a few miles away.
