Report: U.Va. lacrosse player shook, hit victim repeatedly

From wire reports

CHARLOTTESVILLE

George Huguely, the University of Virginia lacrosse player charged with murder in the death of classmate Yeardley Love, has admitted "he shook Love and her head repeatedly hit the wall," a police affidavit says. His lawyer says Love's death was "an accident with a tragic outcome."

Investigators are now looking into whether Love, also a University of Virginia lacrosse player, had been threatened some time before the killing, a police official said Tuesday.

Charlottesville p olice Chief Tim Longo said investigators had recovered a computer that belonged to the slain woman.

Huguely, 22, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Love, 22.

Documents say Huguely told police he kicked in Love's bedroom door early Monday, then shook her and hit her head repeatedly against a wall. He also told police that he had communicated with Love by e-mail and took her computer, according to an affidavit filed with a search warrant. Later he told police where to find it, the affidavit says.

Longo said police are interviewing friends, relatives and teammates of the pair "to see to what extent there's truth to" reports that Huguely may have threatened Love.

The chief said there are no police reports of prior incidents involving the two. However, The Washington Post reported that two years ago Huguely had threatened a patrolwoman who confronted him in a parking lot after a night of drinking.

The affidavit said police found Love face down in her bedroom early Monday with a pool of blood on her pillow, a large bruise on her face and one eye swollen shut. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Huguely stated that he and Love had been in a relationship and that the relationship had ended," the document said.

After waiving his rights, Huguely told police he "was involved in an altercation" with Love, during which "he shook Love and her head repeatedly hit the wall," the document states. He told investigators he had entered her apartment through the unlocked front door, then kicked open the door to her bedroom.

Police found the bedroom door "forced open," with a hole "that appeared to have been made by a fist." Hairs were visible in the hole.

Earlier Tuesday, Huguely's lawyer, Francis Lawrence, said he was confident the death was not intentional.

"We are confident that Ms. Love's death was not intended, but an accident with a tragic outcome," Lawrence told reporters. He did not elaborate and said he would have no further comment.

Huguely, of Chevy Chase, Md., appeared by videoconference Tuesday at a court hearing, wearing a gray-striped jail uniform. He did not speak during the proceeding between his lawyers and the judge. There was no discussion of bond for him.

Love's roommate called police around 2:15 a.m. after finding Love face down on her pillow and unresponsive, the affidavit said.

Love, of Cockeysville, Md., was weeks from earning a degree, and she and her teammates were hoping to end their season by winning a national championship.

The Post report said the November 2008 incident in which Huguely allegedly threatened a patrolwoman led to him being charged with public swearing, intoxication and resisting arrest. The arrest occurred near a fraternity house in Lexington, Va., home to Washington and Lee University.

In an interview Tuesday, Lexington police Patrolwoman R.L. Moff said she responded to a 911 call in 2008 and found Huguely stumbling into traffic. He told her he was visiting some friends at a frat party. She asked if anyone could come pick him up so that he could avoid going to jail, according to Moff.

"He said: 'I'll kill you. I'll kill all of y'all. I'm not going to jail,' " Moff recalled Huguely saying, in a diatribe laced with racial, sexual and otherwise vulgar terms.

Moff said Huguely then became combative and fought with her for "three or four minutes." She said she used a stun gun on him, then placed him in handcuffs. The stun gun "incapacitated him long enough for me to get cuffs on him," Moff said. "But... he became a lot more aggressive."

Moff said Huguely continued to use expletives as she walked him to her patrol car.

Huguely received a 60-day suspended sentence, six months supervised probation, a fine, and was ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and substance abuse screening. According to a Rockbridge County court clerk, he completed all of the requirements.

Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president at U.Va., said the campus was saddened by Love's death, and that the pain is magnified because the accused is "one of our own."

Kyle Cecil, 22, of Newport News, said he lived on the same hall as Huguely as a freshman, and knew him well enough to say hello. He was shocked when he learned of Huguely's arrest.

The lacrosse teams - both are national title contenders - met at least once during the day, but lacrosse players and school officials declined repeatedly to comment, referring to a school statement.

The NCAA tournament pairings are to be announced Sunday, and the men's team is expected to host a first-round game, and the women's team is also expecting to be included.

Huguely, a midfielder, wasn't a starter but played in all 15 games this season. He had four goals and three assists. Love played defense and started in three games this season.

She played varsity lacrosse and field hockey for four years at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Baltimore. "Yeardley was the core of the personality of the team. She was our laughter, a good soul," said Mary Bartel, who coached lacrosse at the prep school.

University President John Casteen said in a release on the university's website that Love "deserved the bright future she earned growing up, studying here, and developing her talents as a lacrosse player," he said. "She deserves to be remembered for her human goodness, her capacity for future greatness, and not for the terrible way in which her young life has ended."

This story was compiled from reports by The Associated Press and The Washington Post.