The Murder of Yeardley Love
Suspect and victim were both stars at the University of Virginia. George Huguely V was a fearsome attacker on the school's top-ranked men's lacrosse team. Yeardley Love was the emotional core of the up-and-coming women's lacrosse squad. They dated; they fought; they broke up. And then, on May 3, Love's roommate phoned 911 to report that Love was unconscious. Police found her face down on the floor, unresponsive, and she was soon pronounced dead. The next day, Huguely, who lived in a nearby building on campus, was charged with her murder. He had apparently waived his Miranda rights and told the police that, according to an affidavit, he had kicked open Love's locked bedroom door and "shook Love, and her head repeatedly hit the wall." He claimed her death was an accident, but the incident cast light on the issue of domestic violence on university campuses. A preliminary hearing in the case is planned for early 2011.