Prosecutors have no plans to seek the death penalty for George Huguely V, the 23-year-old University of Virginia lacrosse player charged with brutally slaying his former girlfriend, police say. And there is a growing consensus that the case will be settled in a plea deal before trial, said persons close to both the prosecution and the Huguely family.
Huguely, of Chevy Chase, has been locked in a Charlottesville jail cell for seven months awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges for the beating death of 22-year-old Yeardley Love, a fellow classmate and lacrosse player. He will face prosecutors on Jan. 21 for the first time since his May bond hearing.
| Timeline |
| May 3: Police find Yeardley Love’s body in her Charlottesville apartment around 2 a.m., after her roommate called 911 reporting a possible alcohol overdose. Within hours, police arrest George Huguely V. |
| May 4: Charlottesville judge orders Huguely to remain in Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail without bail. |
| May 5: Police search Huguely’s apartment and collect evidence including a red-stained shirt, two computers and a letter addressed to Love. |
| June 8: Huguely court date postponed to Oct. 7. |
| July 7: Charlottesville medical examiner rules Love’s death a homicide by blunt force trauma. |
| Sept. 24: Huguely court date postponed to Jan. 21. |
“Capital murder is not even a consideration right now,” said Charlottesville police spokesman Gary Pleasants. Pleasants has been communicating with lead detective Lisa T. Reeves and prosecutor Dave Chapman since police found Love’s body in the early morning hours of May 3.
Chapman has remained tight-lipped on the case from the beginning, his policy for all open investigations. He would not comment for this article.
Police arrested Huguely hours after officers found Love’s body, bruised and bloodied with her right eye swollen shut, lying face-down in her Charlottesville apartment.
Huguely told police he fought with Love the night she died and shook her while her head hit the wall, according to police documents. Huguely also admitted he saw blood dripping from Love’s nose before he pushed her onto her bed, stole her computer and left.
A graduate of the Landon School in Bethesda, Huguely has been locked in solitary confinement inside a 4-foot by 8-foot cell at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, according to classification officer Randy Keffer. Friends who visited him earlier this fall said the once “pudgy” athlete — whose playing weight at U.Va. last year was 209 pounds — appears to have lost roughly 30 pounds.
The first-degree murder charges against Huguely are one step down from the death penalty, and carry a minimum 20 years to life in prison. But prosecutors have the option to upgrade the charges to capital murder, with the potential for the death penalty, at any time.
The death penalty in Virginia requires a finding of first-degree murder and evidence of at least one of 12 aggravating factors. These include illegal acts committed in association with the slaying, like a rape or kidnapping connected with a murder, or a killing while committing a robbery.
“The charges are not going to change,” Pleasants said.
At Huguely’s January hearing, prosecutors will reveal just enough evidence for a Charlottesville judge to order that the case move forward to a trial.
But Pleasants says it is unlikely the case will make it to opening arguments.
He said he believed it is likely that Chapman and Huguely’s defense — led by Charlottesville attorney Francis McQ. Lawrence — will instead negotiate a settlement. Pleasants said that was his opinion, and some of the other detectives would disagree. Chapman has not revealed whether he would consider settling.
Huguely’s family wants to keep the case from playing out in courts and is under the impression that a settlement is in the works, according to a Bethesda couple close to Huguely’s father. The couple asked not to be named for this story. Attempts to reach Huguely’s father, George Huguely IV, went unanswered.
A settlement could be beneficial to the prosecution as well, according to Charlottesville defense attorney David L. Heilberg.
“If [prosecutors] have a strong enough case, they will settle,” said Heilberg, who is not involved in the case, but has practiced law in the area for three decades. “[Prosecutors] are getting what they want out of the case by agreement: Angling for Huguely to plead to something, whatever it might be, [for a sentence] not less than 40 years — and then let a judge decide.”
A trial could give the defense an opportunity to build a strong case arguing Huguely acted out of passion the night Love was killed, which could help lessen Huguely’s charges to second-degree murder or manslaughter, Heilberg said.
