Murder of Yeardley Love
Encyclopedia
On May 3, 2010, Yeardley Love, University of Virginia
women's lacrosse
student-athlete, was found unresponsive in her Charlottesville
apartment. Later that day, men's lacrosse
player George Wesley Huguely V, originally of Chevy Chase, Maryland
, was arrested by Charlottesville Police and charged with Love's murder.
, Maryland
, to John and Sharon Love. Yeardley Love had one sister, Lexie. Her uncle, Granville Swope, was an All-American lacrosse player at the University of Virginia. Yeardley attended the all-girls Notre Dame Preparatory School
in Towson, Maryland
, and resided in Cockeysville, Maryland
. At Notre Dame, Love was a member of the varsity lacrosse and field hockey
teams all four years and was an All-County lacrosse player in 2006. Love was admitted to the University of Virginia, where she majored in government
and minored in Spanish
. She was also a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta
sorority. As a member of the UVA women's lacrosse team, the Cavaliers, Love scored her first goal in her first game, playing against Virginia Tech. Love started in 9 of her 16 games in 2009 and in 3 of her 15 games in 2010.
, to George Huguely IV and Marta Murphy, who subsequently divorced. George V descends from a long line of wealthy businessmen. Huguely's great-grandfather George Huguely, Sr., founded the construction supply company Galliher & Huguely in 1912. George Huguely IV is a self-employed investor. George Huguely V attended the all-boys Landon School
in Bethesda, Maryland
, and resided in Chevy Chase, Maryland
. At Landon, Huguely was an All-American lacrosse player and played football as well. During his senior year at Landon, Huguely was the quarterback of the football team.
In 2007, Huguely was charged with underage possession of alcohol in Florida
, where his family owns a vacation home. In 2008, Huguely was arrested for public drunkenness and resisting arrest outside the Phi Kappa Sigma
fraternity house at Washington and Lee University
; police tased
Huguely to subdue him. In that incident, Huguely received a suspended sentence
of 60 days and 6 months of probation, was fined, and was ordered to perform community service and take a drug treatment program. He did not disclose this arrest to the University of Virginia, despite a requirement to do so. During the 2010 season, Huguely was a midfielder for the Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse
team. He majored in anthropology
at Virginia.
On May 4, Huguely was charged with murdering Love and is currently being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. At a May 6 court appearance, Huguely's attorney, Fran Lawrence, stated: "Ms. Love's death was not intended but an accident with a tragic outcome." Huguely appeared at the hearing via video.
Huguely and Love dated briefly, but had broken up. At the Charlottesville police station, Huguely waived his Miranda rights and narrated graphic details of his assaulting Love, stating that he kicked open Love's locked bedroom door and "shook Love, and her head repeatedly hit the wall". Evidence that police seized from Huguely's apartment included two Apple laptop computers, a spiral notebook, two white socks, bathroom and entryway rugs, and a Virginia lacrosse shirt with a red stain. Investigators are reportedly also following leads that could point to domestic violence between Huguely and Love, including: threatening e-mail and text messages that Huguely allegedly sent to Love post-breakup; a violent encounter between the couple that was broken up by several visiting lacrosse players from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
; and an incident in which Huguely attacked Love while drunk but did not recall having hit her. An unnamed student told the New York Daily News
that Huguely and Love broke up after the drunken Huguely assaulted Love.
on May 8 with an attendance of around 2,000.
On May 10, UVA women's lacrosse coach Julie Myers explained why the team planned to go forward with its role in the NCAA tournament, "Let’s do it the way that Yards would want us to do it."
In their respective tournaments, the men's team advanced to the semifinal where they lost to Duke
, who would go on to win the championship, and the women's team advanced to the quarterfinal.
On September 29, 2010, the family of Yeardley Love announced the creation of the Yeardley Reynolds Love Foundation, Inc., also known as the One Love Foundation, to honor the memory of this outstanding young woman. "The mission of the foundation is to encourage and develop in children and young adults four qualities of character that Yeardley exemplified … service, kindness, humility and sportsmanship … that together add up to One Love," explained Sharon Love, Yeardley’s mother. "The foundation would like to 'bring out the Yeardley' in everyone by igniting the spirit of One Love in children and young adults, encouraging them to choose a path of goodness."
indicted him April 18, 2011 on charges of first degree and felony murder charges, and a trial date of Feb. 6, 2012 was set.
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
women's lacrosse
Women's lacrosse
Women's lacrosse, sometimes shortened to wlax or lax, is a sport played with twelve players on each team. Originally played by the indigenous peoples of the Americas, the first tribe to play it was the Hauser tribe, of the Great Plains. The modern women's game was introduced in 1890 at the St...
student-athlete, was found unresponsive in her Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
apartment. Later that day, men's lacrosse
Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse
The Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse team represents the University of Virginia in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...
player George Wesley Huguely V, originally of Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland. In addition, a number of villages in the same area of Montgomery County include "Chevy Chase" in their names...
, was arrested by Charlottesville Police and charged with Love's murder.
Yeardley Love
Yeardley Reynolds Love was born on July 17, 1987, in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, to John and Sharon Love. Yeardley Love had one sister, Lexie. Her uncle, Granville Swope, was an All-American lacrosse player at the University of Virginia. Yeardley attended the all-girls Notre Dame Preparatory School
Notre Dame Preparatory School (Towson, Maryland)
Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Roman Catholic school in Towson, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. Notre Dame Preparatory School is one of Baltimore's oldest Catholic, college preparatory schools for girls...
in Towson, Maryland
Towson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
, and resided in Cockeysville, Maryland
Cockeysville, Maryland
Cockeysville is a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 19,388 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. At Notre Dame, Love was a member of the varsity lacrosse and field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
teams all four years and was an All-County lacrosse player in 2006. Love was admitted to the University of Virginia, where she majored in government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and minored in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. She was also a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
sorority. As a member of the UVA women's lacrosse team, the Cavaliers, Love scored her first goal in her first game, playing against Virginia Tech. Love started in 9 of her 16 games in 2009 and in 3 of her 15 games in 2010.
George Huguely
George Wesley Huguely V was born on August 17, 1987, in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, to George Huguely IV and Marta Murphy, who subsequently divorced. George V descends from a long line of wealthy businessmen. Huguely's great-grandfather George Huguely, Sr., founded the construction supply company Galliher & Huguely in 1912. George Huguely IV is a self-employed investor. George Huguely V attended the all-boys Landon School
Landon School
The Landon School is a private, nonsectarian, college preparatory school for boys in grades 3-12, with an enrollment of approximately 675 students. The school sits on in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.-Background:...
in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, and resided in Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland. In addition, a number of villages in the same area of Montgomery County include "Chevy Chase" in their names...
. At Landon, Huguely was an All-American lacrosse player and played football as well. During his senior year at Landon, Huguely was the quarterback of the football team.
In 2007, Huguely was charged with underage possession of alcohol in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where his family owns a vacation home. In 2008, Huguely was arrested for public drunkenness and resisting arrest outside the Phi Kappa Sigma
Phi Kappa Sigma
Phi Kappa Sigma is an international all-male college social fraternity. Its members are known as "Phi Kaps", "Skulls" and sometimes "Skullhouse", the latter two because of the skull and crossbones on the Fraternity's badge and coat of arms. Phi Kappa Sigma was founded by Dr. Samuel Brown Wylie...
fraternity house at Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
; police tased
Taser
A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
Huguely to subdue him. In that incident, Huguely received a suspended sentence
Suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...
of 60 days and 6 months of probation, was fined, and was ordered to perform community service and take a drug treatment program. He did not disclose this arrest to the University of Virginia, despite a requirement to do so. During the 2010 season, Huguely was a midfielder for the Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse
Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse
The Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse team represents the University of Virginia in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...
team. He majored in anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
at Virginia.
Murder and arrest
Around 2:15 a.m. (EDT) on May 3, police were called to Love's apartment on 14th Street in the University Corner district in Charlottesville. At the scene, Love was found unresponsive and was pronounced dead. The 911 call from Love's roommate reported that Love suffered an alcohol overdose, but detectives noticed "obvious physical injuries to her body" upon arrival. The suspect, George Huguely, was living in the building next door.On May 4, Huguely was charged with murdering Love and is currently being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. At a May 6 court appearance, Huguely's attorney, Fran Lawrence, stated: "Ms. Love's death was not intended but an accident with a tragic outcome." Huguely appeared at the hearing via video.
Huguely and Love dated briefly, but had broken up. At the Charlottesville police station, Huguely waived his Miranda rights and narrated graphic details of his assaulting Love, stating that he kicked open Love's locked bedroom door and "shook Love, and her head repeatedly hit the wall". Evidence that police seized from Huguely's apartment included two Apple laptop computers, a spiral notebook, two white socks, bathroom and entryway rugs, and a Virginia lacrosse shirt with a red stain. Investigators are reportedly also following leads that could point to domestic violence between Huguely and Love, including: threatening e-mail and text messages that Huguely allegedly sent to Love post-breakup; a violent encounter between the couple that was broken up by several visiting lacrosse players from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
; and an incident in which Huguely attacked Love while drunk but did not recall having hit her. An unnamed student told the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
that Huguely and Love broke up after the drunken Huguely assaulted Love.
Aftermath
"My hope for Yeardley, and for you," said University president John Casteen at a May 6 candlelight vigil, "is that her dying inspires an anger, a sense of outrage that engenders determination here and wherever Yeardley's name is recognized that no woman, no person in this place, this community, this state, our nation need either fear for her safety or experience violence for any reason." A funeral Mass for Love was held at the Cathedral of Mary Our QueenCathedral of Mary Our Queen
The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located at 5200 North Charles Street, in northern Baltimore, Maryland....
on May 8 with an attendance of around 2,000.
On May 10, UVA women's lacrosse coach Julie Myers explained why the team planned to go forward with its role in the NCAA tournament, "Let’s do it the way that Yards would want us to do it."
In their respective tournaments, the men's team advanced to the semifinal where they lost to Duke
Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse
The Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team represents Duke University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...
, who would go on to win the championship, and the women's team advanced to the quarterfinal.
On September 29, 2010, the family of Yeardley Love announced the creation of the Yeardley Reynolds Love Foundation, Inc., also known as the One Love Foundation, to honor the memory of this outstanding young woman. "The mission of the foundation is to encourage and develop in children and young adults four qualities of character that Yeardley exemplified … service, kindness, humility and sportsmanship … that together add up to One Love," explained Sharon Love, Yeardley’s mother. "The foundation would like to 'bring out the Yeardley' in everyone by igniting the spirit of One Love in children and young adults, encouraging them to choose a path of goodness."
Legal proceedings
A preliminary hearing for Huguely on a first degree murder charge was held April 11, 2011, in Charlottesville District Court. Huguely continues to be held without bond at the Charlottesville regional jail. On January 7, 2011, prosecutors added five additional charges: felony murder, robbery of a residence, burglary, entering a house with an intent to commit a felony, and grand larceny. A grand juryGrand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
indicted him April 18, 2011 on charges of first degree and felony murder charges, and a trial date of Feb. 6, 2012 was set.
External links
- Inside Lacrosse article which includes repository of stories and other links related to the case
- Washington Post article
- Hook articles
- Cavalier Daily article
- Sports Illustrated article
- One Love Foundation website