Locked doors: Two witnesses contradict Huguely's alibi
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Police officials enter the Charlottesville courthouse on High Street Monday.photo by Tom Daly -
George Huguely IV appears with shorter hair in a mugshot taken May 5, two days after his arrest.ALBEMARLE CHARLOTTESVILLE REGIONAL JAIL -
Yeardley Love on a 2008 family vacation at Bethany Beach, Delaware.COURTESY LOVE FAMILY -
Nine news satellite truck filled Court Square, in what local officials believe is a dry run for the Huguely trial.PHOTO BY TOM DALY
A judge certified six felony charges against former UVA lacrosse player George Huguely for the murder of fellow student-athlete and sometime girlfriend Yeardley Love in a nine-hour, packed-courtroom preliminary hearing April 11, nearly a year after Love was found dead in her 14th Street apartment, a crime that attracted national attention.
Around 7pm, after hearing evidence that Love and Huguely had each other's DNA under their fingernails, the hearing continued another three hours. In all, the prosecution called 18 witnesses, including police officers, a medical examiner, and friends of Love and Huguely from the tight-knit lacrosse world.
The defense brought in three witnesses, including a biomechanical engineer who testified that a piece of wall board taken from Love's bedroom seemed to contradict an admission from Huguely that had famously appeared in a search warrant affidavit that Love's head "repeatedly hit the wall. According to the engineer, the wall showed no sign of impact.
Still, Love died from blunt force trauma, according to medical examiner Bill Gormley, who performed her autopsy and described injuries to her brain, neck, and mouth in detail for two hours.
Three rows in the standing-room-only Charlottesville Circuit courtroom (it's still a General District case) were reserved for Love's family and friends; and Love's mother and sister sat through the at-times grisly testimony, with Huguely's family across the aisle. Huguely had waived his right to be present.
Love's roommate Caity Whiteley, who had known Love since the sixth grade in Baltimore, was the first witness, and she testified that the relationship between the two UVA students was "on and off," mentioning a fight on the Tuesday before Love's Monday morning death, when she heard about "another woman" and Love losing her cellphone at Huguely's home.
On a trip to Chicago for a lacrosse game, Love remained in contact with Huguely and showed Whiteley emails he had sent. Then Whiteley described discovering her unresponsive friend early on May 3 in their apartment.
Earlier that evening, Love and Whiteley had attended a birthday gathering at Boylan Heights, a regular hangout a couple of blocks from their 14th Street apartment, but Love did not go out again when Whiteley left around 11pm. "She was tired," said Whiteley.
The first thing Love's roommate noticed when she returned around 2am apartment was a hole in the door to Love's bedroom.
"I saw Yeardley in bed face down with a comforter over her," said Whiteley. "I shook her shoulder. I moved her hair to the side and touched her shoulder."
That was when, Whiteley says, she saw blood on Love's neck and face and called 911. Her friend Philippe Oudshoorn, a UVA tennis player, testified that as he lifted Love out of the bed to attempt CPR he saw blood on the 22-year-old's face and eye.
Police Sergeant Shawn Bayles advised members of the Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad, while they were doing CPR on the victim they found at 2:28am, that they were working in a crime scene.
"It seemed that her body was too cold," testified emergency medical technician Michael Hanshew, shortly after Judge Robert Downer warned a packed courtroom that they might soon be hearing things they "don't want to hear."
Most observers remained stoic when the victim was described by police Officer K.W. Blackwell as wearing "just a pair of panties." But when prosecutor Dave Chapman said that he was bringing out photographs from the scene, two women who'd been sitting in the front row with members of Love's family made a hasty retreat.
On cross-examination, Hanshew agreed with defense attorney Fran Lawrence that Love's body was about room temperature. And Lawrence, in his opening statement, reiterated his claim that Huguely had no intention of killing Love.
Friends of the couple described a week-earlier argument when Love came over to Huguely's apartment after learning that he'd been entertaining a pair of female high school lacrosse recruits.
Love's sorority sister Elizabeth McLean, whose boyfriend, Kevin Carroll, was Huguely's roommate, was in the next room and heard what she called loud "bickering" about the girls, and the sound of an object coming in contact with someone, but she did not see Love fling her purse at Huguely.
McLean helped Love gather the scattered contents of her purse and walked her home "because she was upset." Love was missing a camera and her cellphone, the latter of which did not turn up, according to witnesses.
Huguely's roommate, Kevin Carroll, described Huguely as "definitely drunk" May 2 after spending the day at a golf tournament at Wintergreen Resort. At 11:40pm, Carroll left with a friend to purchase more beer before markets closed at midnight; Huguely, he said, remained in their apartment, in a building immediately adjacent to Love's.
Returning from the beer run, Carroll said, Huguely wasn't home, but he came back shortly and explained he'd been downstairs with two friends.
Carroll telephoned one of them, Will Bolton, to come join them, but Bolton said he wasn't in the apartment below, a stark rejection to the just-proffered alibi. The other friend, Chris Clements, also testified with information unhelpful to Huguely. Clements told the court that he'd been so immersed in study that, earlier that evening, when he heard Huguely coming down the stairs, he told Huguely to go away. And then, Clements added, he locked his door.
Around 11:50pm May 2, downstairs neighbor Anna Lehman heard "very loud" banging noises coming from Love's apartment. She further testified that she heard footsteps come down the steps and saw a man in a blue shirt, which matches accounts of what Huguely was wearing, walking across the courtyard.
Police detective Lisa Reeves interviewed Huguely later that morning, and found him cooperative, even telling police about Love's missing laptop computer: "He told us he took it," Reeves recounted, "and put it in a dumpster."
Huguely had allegedly waived his Miranda rights before talking to police in a room where he was secretly videotaped. That videotape was not played in court, although a copy was given to the judge, and defense attorney Fran Lawrence described its contents in his opening statement.
During the interview, said Lawrence, Huguely kept asking if Love was okay. After about an hour, Detective Reeves finally said, "She's dead. You killed her."
Huguely reacted in disbelief, said his attorney, became emotional, and insisted she couldn't be dead.
"You guys said she had a black eye," Lawrence told the judge his client said. "I never did anything that would do that to her."
And Lawrence disputed that the two fourth-year students were estranged. Following the Tuesday incident during which "Ms. Love went to George Huguely's apartment and got physical with him," said Lawrence, a handwritten note from Huguely was found on her bureau in which he apologized to her and wrote, "You are my best friend."
Judge Robert Downer said there was enough evidence to send the case to the grand jury. They'll get the case April 18.
With additional reporting by Hawes Spencer.
Updated 11:30pm.
Updated April 12.
Original headline: A 'crime scene': Graphic testimony sends Huguely to grand jury
41 comments
I hope george hugely rots in hell
along with his mother and father marts sans on fisher who are paying money to have yeardleys name dragged thru mud bc they were too self indulgent to realize the monster they created
god bless you yeardley
Correct me if I'm wrong, but - given what we already know about the case the judge saying, you might hear things you " don't want to hear" surprises me, who would expect this to be a walk in the park ?
Hughley AND his family are MONSTERS!!!
I just hope and pray and hope and pray that Hugheley's family money and "generous donations" will not assist in getting that monster off with a slap on the hand, but frankly, I fear that. He should be delt capitol punishment, and swift.
earlier comment: I intended to say "generous donation to UVA."
Death penalty fits him well
Everyone has the potential to be many things. Blaming parents is not helpful. I hope everyone remembers that our system allows individuals to be innocent until proven guilty. I'm sure that this case has many more elements to be presented.
Holly, if the system assumed him to be innocent, why then has he been in jail since the act was committed?
Yes, I'm sure his lawyers will drag the dead girl's name through the mud, but the evidence is overwhelming. Don't fool yourself.
Not the death penalty, but life in prison with no chance of parole. He is a monster and, hopefully, justice will be served despite his parents' money. RIP, Yeardley.
Adderall doe not make a sane person slam one head heads into a wall. And if Georgoe boy is innocent, why did he hot not try and help this young girl, but stole her laptop and then threw it in a dumpster? Too much time for a woman beater being defended for a woman beater being defended and also wasting time the city's time and resources on hearings. There is a gurney awaiting Hughley where he will get an IV. I he gets out, I am sure that there are a lot of others that will that care if him.he gets out anytime soon. ommommy and Daddy can't save him now.
Sorry about my typing. I just think think that this monster and his attorneys should stop playing the game and let him be convicted and then executed very slowly
So far, no one knows both the prosecution's or the defence's side of the equation. Silly comments of the death penalty come from those with little knowledge of law. I suggest a reading of the facts, and as of this point, the public knows not. Educate yourselves.
Having money and connections seems to be the thing around Charlottesville. Remember the guy who stabbed the fireman to death on the corner and got off with, what, 1 year or somethig. Then a guy is found innocent of rape and the girl gets $150,000 fro what....lieing? And a poor dumbell gets 5 years for growing weem in the national forest. Justice is determined by $ signs in Charlottesville and thats no justice at all.
Junius,
Your description of justice is hardly unique to the Charlottesville area. Those with money get off, those with political or business connections get off. Everyone else goes to jail. It's like the ranting I see on this site about welfare fraud, yet they are silent by the fraud on Wall Street.
Deleted by moderator.
perhaps the moderator will like this better...Holly - George already confessed so why should we consider him innocent til proved guilty? He alredy admitted his guilt. Do you even know anything about this case? This is not an episode of Law & Order or CSI Miami, so I can't imagine what hidden truths you are expecting to be unveiled. He had previous incidents and yes, i do know the family and yes this boy should have been dealt with long ago before her violently murdered Yeardly.
It seems like a lot of you, especialy those mentioning the death penalty and life in prison, need to study the murder laws in Virginia. I have sat in on hundreds of murder cases in my lifetime. The best the commonwealth can hope for in this case is a conviction of second degree murder, punishable by confinement in a state correctional facility for not less than five nor more than forty years.
Even though Huguely is currently charged with First degree murder, the commonwealth will most likely not ever be able to prove First dgree beyond a reasonable doubt... namely, " poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, or by any willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or in the commission of, or attempt to commit, arson, rape, forcible sodomy, inanimate or animate object sexual penetration, robbery, burglary or abduction".
The Love case also points out the many and troubling inconsistencies in law enforcement in this nation. A black Staunton man has just been indicted on second degree murder for stabbing another black man to death in a domestic argument. The Staunton commonwealth attorney didn't even shoot for First degree murder from the get-go. Why is this? Is a black life not worth as much as that of white life?
I hope Huguely gets whatever he deserves, but reading the death penalty or life imprisonment into this media circus is just plain silly.
I wonder if the Hook has the ability to run a tally of costs for this case? Local law enforcement cost and the amount Huguely is paying the lawyers?
Why do costs matter? Both the defendant and the commonwealth are entitled to their day in court. If this trial costs $10 million, they are both still entitled to their day in court.
The Commonwealth brought against Hugueley additional charges of burglary and robbery . A conviction on either charge would lend itself to a greater chance of a conviction on the count of first degree murder as outlined in the Code:
Murder, other than capital murder...or in the commission of, or attempt to commit...robbery, burglary.., is murder of the first degree, punishable as a Class 2 felony.
Of course he did it - Fry him!!!
If found guilty, he will be charged with 2nd Degree Murder; he did not intentionally go to her apartment to kill her (1st Degree Murder), but in his rage during argument, lost self control and she was killed. His parents have nothing to do with this and the cruel comments about them are unnecessary; I do not blame the parents of some of the posted writers' comments for the writer's ignorance. Just as the tragedy of this killing, having to read about Defense Attorney Fran Lawrence's defense of twisting the facts and fasifying data for the benefit of her client, I pain for Yeardley Love's family as they sit and hear Lawrence's attempt to destroy their daughter in the courtroom and make unbelievable excuses (untruths) for her client - but - in the end, the truth will be exposed during the trial.
spellchecker, the commonwealth will never be able to prove Huguely murdered Miss Love while attempting to burglarize her apartment or while robbing her. It just isn't going to happen in this lifetime. At best, this was nothing more than a domestic dispute that inadvertantly resulted in a homicide. Happens every day in this country. And the media frenzy doesn't make this case any more serious than any other accidental death during domestic violence.
The way the laws are wrttien in Virginia, and punishments thereafter defined, Huguley will most likley not be celebrating his 30th birthday in prison.
Huguely's charges: murder, assault, burglary, grand larceny, and robbery.
Murder: The judge I spoke to - before the Commonwealth piled on more charges - said it would be involuntary manslaughter. Felony murder clouds the issue, but up to the Commonwealth to convince a jury. Good luck!
Assault: He said he banged her head against the wall. Possible conviction.
Burglary: He lead them to the laptop. His prints are on it. Possible conviction.
Grand Larceny: Yeah! Prove that laptop was worth more then $200. Possible conviction.
Robbery: This is a hold up, or a stick up. He walks on this one. No conviction.
Jury's are interesting. I agree with Gasbag. He'll see day light on, or before his 30th.
And with the cause of death not 100% provable, the Commonwealth has much work ahead.
I take no sides on this case as my heart goes out to both families for their respective losses. I'm just stating this case is a tough one for the Commonwealth to gain much traction that equals many years for the defendant.
The Cav Daily, I believe by far scoops the Hook, with this article: http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2011/04/12/huguely-case-proceeds-to-grand-j...
If the link does not work. Google "Cav Daily".
It seems, of late, the Hook is asleep on reporting.
To holly innocence till proven guiltyUnless you admit you banged a petite girls head against a wall saw blood coming from her nose he admu
It's he,s guilty and even if the creature 205 pounds of ugliness didn't mean to kill her well 1 st yr law school the eggshell
Defense is NO defense you get your victim as they are if you se
Trike someone and they have a heart attack guess what you arenguilty of murder 1st degree
And i do vb
Blame parents who are too self indulgent to see a brat bullying a cop saying he was going to kill her ,beating a fellow lacrosse player in his sleep stroll
Strik8sng yeardley at her party 1 week before she died and then paying for his defense and dragging yeardley thru the mud as culpable and coconspirators in her death the mother was a part time asks model accede to press who was divorcing her husband dating and getting re married whilst the father was seeing boy so out of control who jumped off a boat and there is no evicdence that this kid was sent to rehab or punished or given therapy as coconspirators
It's obvious that restore the republic is a friend of the highly connected hugely sluts
I think they should bang his head against a wall then release him into general public of the va prison system then the spoiled woman abuser will know what it's like to be an abused woman......
you do have to wonder what type of home environment raised such an evil boy
Was the mother absent did she have nannies raise him? The kid seems seriously deranged seriously psychotic
I wonder what his brothers and sisters are like are they crazy too ? Does he have any cousins ? Are they crazy angry and violent ? Is the mother an alcoholic I just heard that her name was mart sans on or mart murphyand a model is she a drug abuser like some models ? It's just so bizarre the whole story he's beating up roomates attacks a female cop he hates woman he must hate his mother too I wonder if he has sisters and he ever attacked them too? Curious ..i think is less wealthy the kid would have already been in jail for violence and arrests
"It's obvious that restore the republic is a friend of the highly connected hugely sluts"
"I think they should bang his head against a wall then release him into general public of the va prison system then the spoiled woman abuser will know what it's like to be an abused woman......"
Lfish, cleary states the obvious stupidity of public input.
Between my last post on April 12th, 2011 @ 10:29pm and this one, the verbiage reads like a tawdry tirade of a juvenile delinquent. I suppose sometimes parents do not know when their children post inane rants online. The suggestions of violence towards the defendant sounds like henchmen from the Ox Bow Incident. The last sentence of the post on April 12th, 2011 @ 11:01pm reads like Sigmund Freud's psychological projection. Redundant posting further suggests a grade school level conversation where enough repetitions somehow makes one the winner, but for everyone else it just sounds like a myna bird squawking.
Wait to his cell mate Bubba tells him to bend over?
Yowza..............................................................................
As far as bringing race or money into it, suppose there was a killing in public housing would we be posting (as above):
..I wonder what his brothers and sisters are like are they crazy too ? Does he have any cousins ? Are they crazy angry and violent ? Is the mother an alcoholic..."
He is a bad guy but no first degree murder and lucky to convict on a lessor charge.
Look up mens rea and actus rea to understand. They were both into fighting and arguing
and this time he was drunk and she was mad. She likely set him off and he fought her like
he would a man. Not defending but never a first degree case as this is Chapman trying to
overplay. Remember the stabbing victim at UVa and how he got off. Same will happen here as the guy gets ten years for the lessor charge. Not first degree and not manslaughter so you compromise. Laawrence knows this and is working for that result.
In the stabbing victim criminal case the jury took into consideration that both were guys, drunk, and fighting. They can't go there in this. The Civil case it was settled for (withheld) but the former UVa student had filed for bankruptcy and so a few hundred not more than a few thousand was paid. The criminal case will likely put him away for years and a civil case, he will probably file for bankruptcy like the other UVa student did. Even Fred Smith's (Fed Ex chairman's) son didn't have assests in his own name but the 1/2 million verdict against him for punching X (by miracle) got paid.
Money talks...Huguely walks!....mark my word!!! That's the way the justice system works in the good ole USA! I hope and pray I will be proven wrong but I have been around long enough to see that our justice system is deeply flawed!!!
Quote from the article: "Love's mother and sister sat through the at-times grisly testimony, with Huguely's family across the aisle. Huguely had waived his right to be present."
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? He had the choice to waive his right to be present? WAIVE HIS RIGHT??? I don't get that. Please, can someone explain to me why he was not required to be there and witness the gory details himself as HER family and friends did?
Re: walela
Really, nothing much was served by the defendant being present other than adding to the media circus, doing the perp walk, so being absent was the best play. Nothing legally can be read into this unless going tabloid!
Trial is the place to be present.
Until then: Legal laypersons should park their weak legal verbiage.
At this level the defendant is not useful. Get over it.
The Hook says:
"Still, Love died from blunt force trauma, according to medical examiner Bill Gormley, who performed her autopsy and described injuries to her brain, neck, and mouth in detail for two hours."
Two hours worth of testimony and only 1 sentance in this article. This omitted information will be what proves that Hughley murdered Love. Too bad the writer didn't expand on this 2 hours more.
Also, the fact that Love's body was face down and covered up by the comforter and the computer being removed and thrown in the dumpster shows intent to cover up a crime. Hughley lost control and beat her to death. Quite sobering/methodical acts after being drunk all day. His shock over learning of her death shows his absolute denial of reponsibility for his actions.
7 years, time off for good behavior and time served- out in 5- works for Dad, inherits the biz and lives the life of any priveledged murderer.
"Wait to his cell mate Bubba tells him to bend over?
Yowza.............................................................................."
Talk about blunt force trauma...........
as far as a i know "high profile lawyers" in this case should be called "the only firm in town that will oppose UVa in court." and puts on bizarre, weak defenses. and, i believe the public record shows, loses most of those cases. and appears to have an unusually close relationship with the lawyers on the other side. Hugely has no case, but there are no independent attorneys in Charlottesville who can or will fight the way our system intended. It is a frightening place. "there will be no police investigation" announced in the first stories. they are above the law and they know it (and have made it that way).