Prosecutors in Charlottesville are expected to reveal new evidence Monday against George Huguely V, the University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.
Huguely, 23, of Chevy Chase, is charged with first-degree murder in the May beating death of 22-year-old Yeardley Love. Both were lacrosse players
at the University of Virginia and had dated. Huguely is a graduate of the Landon School in Bethesda.
Virginia prosecutors are expected to reveal evidence during Monday’s preliminary court hearing in Charlottesville to convince a judge that the case should move forward to trial. About 25 witnesses have been subpoenaed.
Huguely also has been charged with felony murder, robbery, burglary, statutory burglary and grand larceny and is still being held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, a corrections employee said.
Police found Love in the early morning hours of May 3 lying facedown in her apartment. A medical examiner ruled she died by blunt force trauma, though attorneys for Huguely have said other factors could have contributed to her death.
Police documents said Huguely told police he and Love had a fight the night she died. He admitted to shaking her and said her head hit the wall during the altercation.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman declined to comment through a spokeswoman. Monday’s preliminary hearing has been postponed several times, most recently in January.
“It’s kind of an art,” David L. Heilberg, a criminal defense lawyer in Charlottesville who is not connected to the case, said of the hearing. “The commonwealth puts on as little evidence as they possibly can.”
He said it’s “a little unusual” that 25 witnesses have been subpoenaed to appear at the preliminary court hearing. He speculated that prosecutors do not “want to take any chances.”
“It’s like a minitrial,” Heilberg said.
Anne M. Coughlin, a professor of law at the University of Virginia, said the public only has “a basic outline” of what authorities know about Love’s death and said the hearing will likely reveal new information.
“Everybody is waiting to see if we get more of those details,” she said. “And of course, the big question is whether they might suggest they’ve reached a negotiated settlement, a plea bargain.”
It’s possible, she said, that prosecutors and the defense are still working on a plea agreement, though cautioned that the high-profile nature of the case makes it different from most others.
“This is not just a routine case. The underlying crime is horrifying and frightening and caused tremendous apprehension in the community,” she said.
Francis McQ. Lawrence, an attorney for Huguely, did not respond to a request for comment.
