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Former Virginia lacrosse player convicted of second-degree murder

22/02/2012 20:35:00

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Lacrosse player found guilty of murder

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Jury meets late on sentence recommendation
NEW: Yeardley Love's mother and sister testify in sentencing phase
NEW: Huguely blamed woes on alcohol in letter written after Love's death, prosecutors say
Jurors convicted George Huguely of second-degree murder Wednesday evening

Charlottesville, Virginia (CNN) -- A jury on Wednesday evening found a former University of Virginia lacrosse player guilty of second-degree murder in the May 2010 death of his ex-girlfriend.

George Huguely was found not guilty on the most serious charge -- first-degree murder -- in the death of Yeardley Love, 22. He was acquitted on several other charges, including robbery and breaking and entering to commit larceny.

Huguely, 24, faces between five and 40 years in prison. He showed no emotion during the reading of the verdict, but wiped away tears during the sentencing phase held later Wednesday.

Love's mother and sister testified about the impact of their loss in that phase, but there were no defense witnesses before the jury began deliberating the sentence. The jury's sentence is not binding: The judge can accept it or go with a lesser term.

The jury was still considering sentence options at 9:15 p.m. ET.

Authorities alleged that a jealous Huguely caused fatal blunt force trauma during an altercation with Love, also a lacrosse player, at her Charlottesville apartment. The defense argued Love's death was an accident -- a contention not accepted by jurors, who found that Huguely acted with malice.

A first-degree murder guilty verdict would have required them to find Huguely's actions also were willful, deliberate and premeditated, according to Virginia law.

Jurors had the option, besides acquittal, of finding Huguely guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in Love's death. They deliberated about than nine hours Wednesday before convicting Huguely.

In their closing statements in the sentencing phase, the prosecution said a letter by Huguely to Love, found after her death, blamed his problems on alcohol use.

Huguely was convicted of grand larceny in the theft of a computer belonging to Love.

A defense attorney told jurors during closing arguments Saturday in Charlottesville that Huguely contributed to Love's death, but did not kill her and had no intent to do so.

"Yes, George contributed to her death. But no, he didn't kill her ... he left there with her alive, and that is not in dispute. There was no intentional killing, because she wasn't dead when he left," defense attorney Francis Lawrence said. "There's no intent to rob and no intent to kill."

Lawrence described his client as "stupid, drunk -- but not calculating."

Police were initially called to Love's off-campus Charlottesville apartment by a roommate who reported "a possible alcohol overdose," Police Chief Tim Longo said at the time.

A medical examiner later ruled that Love died of blunt force trauma, and authorities allege that Huguely caused it during an altercation.

"When somebody's little girl doesn't wake up the next day, and there's no reason why they shouldn't ... I ask you to do no more, and no less, than to hold him responsible for what he did," said Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney Warner D. Chapman.

"It goes without saying that this woman is never going to be able to say what happened to her ... but the evidence proves she was killed in the commission of a robbery," he told the jury.

The prosecutor also told jurors that Love's death was slow and painful, claiming she could have remained alive for a couple of hours after Huguely left her apartment. The defense agrees Love was alive when Huguely left.

Charlottesville Police Detective Lisa Reeves wrote in a sworn statement used to obtain a search warrant in the case that "Huguely admitted on May 3, 2010, that he was involved in an altercation with Yeardley Love and, during the course of the altercation, he shook Love and her head repeatedly hit the wall."

The defense attorney had said there is no evidence that Love's head hit a wall, and on Saturday the defense called a neurosurgeon who questioned the nature of Love's injuries.

Prosecutors have claimed all along that Huguely followed through on his intentions to kill Love.

Earlier in the trial, Chapman read e-mails between the two after Huguely heard Love had allegedly slept with someone else.

The defendant wrote, "I should have killed you," and Love responded, "You should have killed me?" according to Chapman.

Huguely responded that the pair should talk, Chapman said.

InSession's Jean Casarez and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.

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