Va. students to hold candlelight vigil for slain Cockeysville lacrosse player

Defense attorney for Huguely says death of Yeardley Love was an accident

After a discussion between Lawrence and the judge, a bail review hearing was postponed until June 10. Huguely's parents and stepfather sat in the back of the courtroom.

Afterward, Lawrence declined to answer questions but read from a statement outside the courthouse.

"Until more information becomes available, it is our hope that no conclusion will be drawn or judgment made about George or his case," the defense lawyer said. "However, we are confident that Ms. Love's death was not intended, but an accident with a tragic outcome."

In the meantime, Downer said Huguely was withdrawing from the university.

"Grief has descended on this community as we attempt to understand what happened and why," Lawrence said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who grieve this terrible loss."

Love's death was the second homicide this year in Charlottesville. There were none in 2009.

Huguely comes from a family that has operated a Northwest Washington lumber and building supply business for nearly a century. His great-great grandfather, George W. Huguely Sr., co-founded Galliher & Huguely in 1912. The family's fourth generation now runs the business, according to the company website.

Before enrolling at Virginia in 2006, Huguely — whose full name is George Wesley Huguely V — attended the Landon School, a private boys school in Bethesda, where tuition is $28,826.

He was a standout athlete at Landon. He played quarterback on the football team that won a championship his senior year. He excelled on the powerhouse lacrosse team, becoming the fifth-leading goal scorer in school history with 87 and earning All-American accolades.

Among teammates, he was known as an easygoing prankster, according to a 2006 article in The Washington Post. He once took coach Rob Bordley's car keys during practice, drove to where his coach was and chatted from the driver's seat until Bordley realized what was happening. Huguely called it his "best prank."

"He's always in an upbeat mood," Bordley was quoted as saying. "Nothing really fazes him. I've asked my assistant coaches if they've ever seen him rattled and they said no. He's just unflappable."

This season at Virginia, the 6-foot-2, 209-pound Huguely played a backup role for the 14-1 Cavaliers, scoring seven points off the bench. The team's website lists his major as anthropology. His parents went through a lengthy divorce beginning in 1997.

The November 2008 incident in Lexington, 70 miles from Charlottesville, began when police received a 911 call from a fraternity house at Washington and Lee College. In her statement, Moss said she first asked Huguely if there was someone sober she could call to pick him up. When he said he was visiting and had no one to call, she said he would be arrested for public drunkenness.

That's when "he started yelling obscenities and making threats to myself" and a female probation officer who was with her. When she tried to handcuff him, "he started to resist and a brief 'tussle' occurred between myself and the male." Eventually, she Tasered him, she said, and another police officer arrived to help. "He continued to be combative even after placed inside the cruiser," she said.

Huguely was charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest. He pleaded guilty and received probation.

Love's killing has jarred the Virginia campus community. But at a university with 14,000 undergraduates, Love's death was largely overshadowed Tuesday by studies for those who didn't know her.

It was the last day of classes, and an annual end-of-year ice cream social went on as planned in the sunshine before Peabody Hall. Students burrowed into books and laptops at the library, prepping for the final exams that start tomorrow. Teaching assistants picnicked in the shade on the college's vast lawn. There were reports of a candlelight vigil being planned for the evening, but concrete plans were scarce.

School officials announced Tuesday night that the killing will not alter the schedules of Virginia's men's or women's lacrosse teams, which have qualified for postseason play.

French teaching assistant Pierre Dairon, 35, said he avoided talking about the homicide in his classes Tuesday. Students were already stressed over finals, he said, and he didn't want to "burden them" with the death.

Love's family has asked for privacy, and the sports community has locked down, turning inward for comfort.

The university recently held a memorial to remember several students who died during the year. One was killed in Haiti's earthquake and another in a bicycle accident. But it was unclear whether anything would be arranged in the wake of Love's death, so close to the summer break.

"It came at a really [difficult] time," said Cecily Greer, 21, who is majoring in women's and gender studies. "People are getting ready to go home and take their finals. … No one's really talking about it. It's unfortunate."

"There should be something more than just an e-mail" sent by the university administration, said 18-year-old psychology student Mariah Slade. "Something where we all come together."

In Alexandria, Va., the Notre Dame Prep lacrosse team won its final regular-season game, against one of its toughest out-of-conference rivals, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School. The players dedicated Tuesday's game to Love, wearing Virginia orange bows in their hair and sporting Love's Cavaliers jersey number, according to coach Mary Bartel.

"They had a piece of black mourning tape around their sticks, and they had the No. 1 on their arms or legs somewhere … in eye black," Bartel said. At the start of the game, "we prayed as we always do, and then in the first-string huddle, Covie [Stanwick] said, 'Come on you all. This one's for Yeards.'"

Baltimore Sun reporters Nick Madigan and Katherine Dunn contributed to this article.

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scott.calvert @baltsun.com