Civil trial to begin in 2010 death of UVA lacrosse player

By DENISE LAVOIE
yesterday



In a March 8, 2009, photo, University of Virginia women?s lacrosse player Yeardley Love works with the ball in Charlottesville, Va. Nearly 12 years after Love was found dead, George Huguely, convicted of second-degree murder in her killing is headed back to court for a civil trial. Jury selection is expected in Charlottesville Circuit Court Monday, April 25, 2022 in a trial that will seek to hold George Huguely V liable in the death of Love. (AP Photo/The Daily Progress, Andrew Shurtleff, File)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A decade ago, University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely V was convicted of second-degree murder after a sensational criminal trial in the killing of his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Yeardley Love, a member of the UVA women’s lacrosse team.

With Huguely now about halfway through his 23-year prison sentence, Love’s mother is seeking to hold him responsible in civil court. Sharon Love’s lawsuit, which seeks $29.5 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages, is set to go to trial Monday in Charlottesville Circuit Court, almost 12 years after her daughter was found dead in her off-campus apartment.

At the University of Virginia, an elite state school consistently ranked as one of the best in the country, Love and Huguely, both seniors who were weeks away from graduating, were known for their play on UVA’s nationally ranked men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. But they were also known for their volatile relationship. During Huguely’s criminal trial, a witness testified that he saw Huguely put Love in a chokehold months before she was killed.

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