A preliminary hearing for Huguely on a
first-degree murder charge was held April 11, 2011, in Charlottesville District Court. Huguely continued to be held without bond at the Charlottesville jail. On January 7, 2012, prosecutors added five additional charges:
felony murder,
robbery of a residence,
burglary, entering a house with an intent to commit a felony, and
grand larceny. On April 18, 2011, a
grand jury indicted Huguely on first-degree and felony murder charges, and a trial date of February 6, 2012, was set. Closing arguments were made on February 18, and
jury deliberations began on Tuesday, February 22. After deliberating for about nine hours, the jury delivered a verdict of guilty of
second-degree murder and grand larceny. After a further two hours of deliberation, the jury recommended a 26-year sentence: 25 years for second-degree murder, and one year for grand larceny. The jury ruled out the "heat of passion" clause that characterizes
voluntary manslaughter. A few of the jurors who spoke to the news media cited the importance of the videotape of Huguely's police interrogation, which was a central part of prosecutor Dave Chapman's case; the jury found that “pretty much every opportunity he had, he lied first. He was not telling the truth on several occasions.” On May 8, 2012, non-jurors for the first time were able to see Huguely in a 64-minute video, in which he was told of Love's death. As he was interrogated by police, Huguely admitted, “I may have grabbed her neck,” and “maybe I shook her a little bit.” He then retells the argument and fight that happened in Love's bedroom, demonstrating how he shook her and kicked her door. Eventually, the detective informs Huguely that Love is dead. Huguely reacts in disbelief, and laments, “Kill me.” Because of the raw emotions seen in this tape, the jury was convinced that Love's murder was not premeditated.
Conviction and sentencing On August 30, 2012, Huguely was formally sentenced to 23 years in prison by Judge Edward Hogshire, with sentences of 23 years for the second-degree murder conviction, and one year for the grand larceny conviction to run concurrently.
Appeals process The
Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a ruling on April 23, 2013, which granted Huguely an
appeal based on two key issues. The court agreed with the
defense's argument that Huguely's right to counsel was violated when one of his attorneys, Rhonda Quagliana, fell ill and missed a day of trial. The court also granted the appeal based on the failure to exclude "Juror 32," because of possible doubts about that juror's impartiality. The Court of Appeals then heard oral arguments from Huguely's new lawyer, former
U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, on December 11, 2013. Clement argued for a new trial, arguing Huguely was denied his right to an attorney when one of his two lawyers fell ill during the trial. Nine days into the trial, Huguely co-counsel Quagliana became visibly ill with stomach flu, but the trial judge refused to grant a continuance, even though Huguely objected; co-counsel Frances Lawrence was asked by the trial judge whether he could proceed without Quagliana, and affirmed he could. In addition to raising questions about "Juror 32," Huguely's appeal team also objected to the trial judge's refusal to allow "
blame the victim" questions of jurors, and said the jury was not properly instructed on the definition of "
malice," an element in a second-degree murder conviction. The Court of Appeals ruled against Huguely on March 4, 2014, affirming the second-degree murder conviction. In November 2014, the
Virginia Supreme Court declined to consider Huguely's appeal. More than four years after Huguely was sent to prison, his mother, Marta Murphy, spoke out. Murphy said that her son should have been convicted of a lesser charge and face less prison time, as the murder was a "drunken accident." Murphy concluded that Huguely had no intent to murder Love, and that Love's death was caused by injuries sustained from falling off the bed. Marta Murphy claimed she waited to speak out in respect for Love's family. Murphy believes that the criminal justice system has proven to be wrong, and did not come to the correct verdict concerning her son.
Huguely in prison In late September 2012, Huguely was moved from the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail to the Powhatan Reception and Classification Center. On October 15, 2012, he was assigned to
Keen Mountain Correctional Center, a high-security state prison in the far southwestern corner of Virginia; Keen is a Level 4 facility in Virginia's six-tier system of rating prison security. A spokesperson for the
Virginia Department of Corrections said Huguely must serve at least a year of his 23-year sentence with no major infractions before the state would consider allowing him to transfer to the Maryland prison system (where he could be closer to his parents' home in Bethesda). In early November 2013, Huguely was transferred from the Keen Mountain Correctional Center to
River North Correctional Center in
Independence, Virginia. The River North facility opened in October 2013, and is a Level 4 facility meant for long-term prisoners. , he was being held at the
Augusta Correctional Center in
Craigsville. Huguely is currently held at the Beaumont Correctional Center, a level 5 facility, which requires no disruptive behavior for at least past 24 months prior to consideration for a transfer to any less secure facility. His release date is June 17, 2030, at which time he will be 42 years old. He is currently housed at Coffeewood Correctional Center in Mitchells, VA
Wrongful death civil lawsuits On April 26, 2012, Sharon Love filed a
wrongful death lawsuit against Huguely, asking for $29.45 million in
compensatory damages and $1 million in
punitive damages. On May 1, 2012, she filed a $29.45 million wrongful death lawsuit against UVA, men's lacrosse head coach
Dom Starsia, associate head coach Marc Van Arsdale, and UVA
director of athletics Craig Littlepage, alleging
gross negligence on the part of the coaching staff. The suit alleged: “It was well known to the players and coaches on the UVA men's and women's lacrosse teams that Huguely's alcohol abuse and erratic, aggressive behavior was increasingly getting out of control, especially his obsession with Love, and his aggressiveness and threats to Love.” But despite this, no action was taken “to discipline Huguely, to suspend or remove Huguely from the lacrosse team, to refer Huguely for treatment or counseling for alcohol/substance abuse or anger/aggressive behavior management, or to subsequently report Huguely's potential risk of violence, pursuant to the UVA Policy on Preventing and Addressing Threats or Acts of Violence.” The Love family dropped its suit against UVA and its coaches on July 23, 2013, with no reason given. The wrongful death suit against Huguely was scheduled to go to trial September 29, 2014, but after multiple delays, was pushed back to a trial date of July 30, 2018; ultimately, shortly before the scheduled trial date, the civil suit was dropped (dismissed
without prejudice) by Love's family on June 11, 2018. The Love family refiled its suit against George Huguely in 2018, and a trial began in Charlottesville District Court on April 25, 2022. On May 2, a jury found Huguely liable, and awarded $15 million in compensatory damages, split evenly between Sharon Love and Love's sister, Lexie Love Hodges. == Aftermath ==