George Wesley Huguely V was born on September 17, 1987, in Washington, D.C., to George Wesley Huguely IV and Marta Sanson Lavarraque. He grew up in an affluent household, attending the private Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland, where he excelled as an All‑American lacrosse midfielder and a star quarterback on the football team. He moved on to the University of Virginia, majoring in anthropology and playing on the Cavaliers’ men’s lacrosse team.

Despite his athletic promise, Huguely had a series of troubling incidents. In 2007, he faced an under‑age alcohol charge in Florida; two years later, he was arrested near Washington and Lee University for public intoxication and resisting arrest—resulting in probation, a fine, and court‑mandated treatment. While these should have triggered disciplinary action at UVA, Huguely did not disclose them.

From his freshman year onward, he was in a relationship with Yeardley Love, a fellow UVA lacrosse athlete.

On May 3, 2010, at approximately 2:15 am, Charlottesville police responded to a 911 call from Yeardley Love’s roommate, who feared an alcohol overdose. Love was found unresponsive in her off‑campus apartment and later pronounced dead. Investigators noted signs of severe physical trauma—specifically blunt force to the head.

George Huguely, living next door, was arrested the following day and initially charged with first‑degree murder. During interrogation, he confessed to forcibly entering Love’s locked bedroom, shaking her violently against the walls, and fleeing with her laptop. “I may have grabbed her neck… maybe I shook her a little bit,” he said. Earlier that spring, he had sent her threatening emails, including “I should have killed you,” after their breakup.

In a trial that began in February 2012, the prosecution dismissed “heat of passion” defenses, relying heavily on video evidence of Huguely’s interrogation. The jury found him guilty of second‑degree murder and grand larceny—the latter for taking Love’s computer. On August 30, 2012, Judge Edward Hogshire sentenced him to 23 years in prison, plus three years’ supervised probation.

Huguely’s appeal, filed in 2013, challenged the trial procedures and the presence of certain jurors. It was rejected in March 2014 by the Virginia Court of Appeals, and the state Supreme Court refused review later that year.

In April 2012, Love’s mother, Sharon, sued Huguely and later UVA-related parties. That civil suit was dismissed but refiled in 2022. In May of that year, a jury awarded $15 million to Love’s family—$7.5 million each to her mother and sister.

Huguely remains incarcerated in Virginia’s Beaumont Correctional Center, a high-security facility. His earliest potential release is scheduled for June 17, 2030, which he will reach at age 42—barring parole or sentence adjustments.