George Huguely Found Guilty In Murder Of Yeardley Love

After hours of testimony by medical experts for both the prosecution and defense in the murder trial of George Huguely, and after hearing multiple possible explanations for the cause of Yeardley Love’s death, it seems clear that for the jurors, all roads lead to one conclusion. The blunt force head trauma Love sustained on the night of May 3, 2010, ultimately killed her.

The fact that Love, who Huguely admitted to shaking until her skull struck a wall and her body began convulsing, was found to have bruising and bleeding on her brain on a medical examiner’s autopsy report suggests she died due to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Love most likely suffered damage to her brain cells and vessels either during the process of being shaken, upon her skull hitting the wall, or a combination of both. Regardless of the exact timing, the other possibilities suggested by the defense -- suffocation due to lying face-down on her pillow after her altercation with Huguely, a rush of blood to the head following CPR attempts and a deadly combination of alcohol and the ADHD medication Adderall -- were not nearly as likely to have resulted in a fatal outcome.

George Huguely, former Virginia Cavaliers lacrosse player, was found guilty of second-degree murder and grand larceny on Wednesday. He will now need to wait until April 16 at 9:30 a.m. ET to learn his sentencing for these crimes, according to NBC 29 in Charlottesville, Va. The jury has already recommended a sentence of 25 years for second-degree murder:

Presiding judge Hogshire does not need to follow the recommendations of the jury. The second-degree murder conviction carries with it a five- to 40-year sentence, so the jury is giving a middle ground in its recommendation. The one-year recommendation for grand larceny is the minimum sentence that comes with the conviction.

After less than a day of deliberations, the jury in the George Huguely murder trial came back with a verdict of guilty for second degree murder of Virginia female lacross player Yeardley Love, as well as a guilty verdict for grand larceny. Huguely had been charged with first degree murder, felony murder, robbery, burglary, statutory burglary and larceny. However, the judge’s instructions also allowed for the jury to find Huguely guilty of something less than first degree murder, which they did.

In finding Huguely guilty of second degree murder as opposed to first degree murder, the jury likely decided that while Huguely had malice in his heart, he did not commit the murder in a willful, deliberate and premeditated manner. At the same time, the jury also did not buy that this was a case of mistake and tragedy as the defense tried to portray it. Rather, Huguely had intent to kill Yeardley Love and went through with it, albeit without plan and purpose.

Former University of Virginia men’s lacrosse player George Huguely has been found guilty of the murder of Yeardley Love by a jury on Wednesday.

He was also found guilty of grand larceny. Huguely allegedly grabbed Love’s laptop and left her bleeding until she eventually died.

Wednesday morning, the jury in the trial of former University of Virginia men’s lacrosse player George Huguely will begin deliberations on six counts related to the death of UVA women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love. The jury is considering charges that include first-degree murder, felony murder, robbery, burglary, statutory burglary and larceny.

The charges stem from Love’s death on May 3, 2010. Love’s body was discovered by her roommate at 2 a.m., at which point the roommate called 911 and reported that Love may have suffered from alcohol poisoning. When police arrived, they discovered multiple physical injuries to the body. They interviewed Huguely, who was Love’s on-again, off-again boyfriend at the time. Huguely lived next door and told police that he and Love had been wrestling in her apartment that evening, but that he had not done anything so vicious as to kill her.

Imagine the families. Chevy Chase, Maryland and Cockeysville, Maryland are only about an hour apart. George Huguely and Yeardley Love had been dating for some time. The families had to have met, right?

Now, in the wake of Yeardley Love’s death—allegedly at the hands of her boyfriend, George Huguely—imagine the interactions between the two families. If it hasn’t happened already, at some point, it will. They’ll cross paths, and familiar looks will be replaced with downward gazes, stifled emotions. Should they speak, think of the fumbled words, the tears, the heads shaking.