Crime & Safety
Slain Lacrosse Player's Family Awarded $15M In Wrongful Death Suit
A jury found resident George Huguely V civilly liable in the slaying of Yeardley Love. Both Marylanders were UVA lacrosse stars.
RICHMOND, VA — A former University of Virginia lacrosse player was found civilly liable for killing his girlfriend in 2010 and must pay her family $15 million in damages, a jury decided this week.
The wrongful death lawsuit against George Huguely V sought to hold him liable in the death of Yeardley Love, according to a report by The Associated Press. The lawsuit asked the jury to award $29.5 million in compensatory damages, plus $1 million in punitive damages.
Instead, the jury awarded $7.5 million in compensatory damages to Yeardley’s mother, Sharon Love, as well as her sister, Lexi Love Hodges, The AP reported. Punitive damages were not awarded.
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Huguely, who's from Chevy Chase, was convicted in 2012 of killing Love, a 22-year-old Cockeysville native who was beaten to death on May 3, 2010. Huguely is serving a 23-year sentence.
Love was killed by Huguely in a drunken rage just weeks before she was supposed to graduate, according to court testimony. Both played on the University of Virginia's elite lacrosse teams.
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The two also had a volatile, off-and-on relationship that included infidelity, physical violence, and heavy drinking. One witness, for instance, said he had seen Huguely put Love in a chokehold.
Love was found dead in her apartment after Huguely kicked a hole in her bedroom door and beat her after a day of heavy drinking, according to trial testimony. She died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Sharon Love initially filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2012, but it was voluntarily dismissed years later after court rulings determined that Huguely was not entitled to coverage under a $6 million homeowners insurance policy held by his family.
A new lawsuit filed in 2018 dropped negligence claims but added a claim alleging that an assault and battery by Huguely was the proximate cause of Love’s death.
RELATED: Murder Conviction in Slaying of Lacrosse Player Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court
Murder Conviction Upheld in Slaying of Lacrosse Player Yeardley Love
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