By Ian Simpson

(Reuters) - A hospital worker has been charged with the murder of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, whose disappearance shocked the campus and drew national headlines, authorities said on Tuesday.

Jesse Matthew Jr., 33, of Charlottesville, Virginia, was indicted by an Albemarle County grand jury last week. He was the last person seen with Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore, who went missing in September.

Matthew has been charged with first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile, Albemarle County prosecutor Denise Lunsford said.

"The prosecutions for the abduction and murder of Hannah will bring Mr. Matthew to justice for these crimes, crimes that were committed against Hannah Graham, against her family and against our community," she told a news conference.

Matthew also is charged with a 2005 rape in Fairfax, Virginia, and is jailed there.

In addition, he has been forensically linked to the death of Virginia Tech University student Morgan Harrington, who disappeared after leaving a Charlottesville concert in October 2009, Virginia State Police have said. Her body was discovered in 2010.

He is scheduled to make his first appearance in Albemarle Circuit Court on the abduction and murder charges on Feb. 18 by video from Fairfax.

Graham was last seen leaving a Charlottesville bar with Matthew early on Sept. 13 and driving away with him. Her disappearance sparked a furor in the central Virginia college town and led to weeks of searches by police and volunteers.

Matthew was arrested in Texas in September, a day after he was charged with abduction with intent to defile. Graham's remains were found near Charlottesville in October.

The abduction and first-degree murder charges each carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. Lunsford declined to discuss why Matthew had not been charged with capital murder, which carries the death penalty in Virginia.

James Camblos, Matthew's lawyer, said in a statement that he had received the indictment on Monday. "I have no further comment at this time," he said.

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Matthew faces misdemeanor reckless driving charges after he allegedly sped away from police in September.

Matthew was the main suspect in a 2002 campus rape investigation while attending Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. No charges were filed.

He attended Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, in 2003. A football player, Matthew left the team shortly after a report of an on-campus sexual assault, the university has said.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington and Gary Robertson in Richmond, Va.; Editing by Bill Trott and Eric Beech)