Yeardley Love Badly Beaten, Documents Show - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

Search warrants and affidavits filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court detail a brutal scene when police responded to a call at 22-year-old Yeardley Love's apartment early Monday morning.

The University of Virginia lacrosse player was found in her 14th Street apartment after her roommates called police around 2:15 a.m. on Monday.  The call originally came in as a potential alcohol overdose, but quickly turned into a murder investigation based on what police detectives found.

The graphic details inside the search warrants are chilling, even to a cop who has spent years on the streets. When asked if he had ever seen anything like this before, Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo was certain.

"In the nine years that I've been privileged to serve as chief of police in this community, I have not," he stated.

According to the warrants obtained by NBC29, two witnesses found Love face down on her pillow in her bedroom.  There was a pool of blood on her pillow.  Charlottesville Police officers first on the scene say Love had a large bruise on the right side of her face which appears to have been caused by blunt force trauma.  The warrant goes on to say that Love's right eye was swollen shut and there were bruises and scrapes to her chin.

After waiving his rights under Miranda - the suspect, George Huguely - said that he was involved in an altercation with Love and that during the course of the altercation he shook Love and her head repeatedly hit the wall.  Huguely admitted that he kicked his right foot through the door that leads to Love's bedroom. Huguely also said he took Love's computer, which had emails on it, and hid it. He later told police where it was.

"Certainly our interviews are to get to those very things and to learn more of the history of what happened in past time," explained Longo. "And more importantly, what happened the days preceding her death and the day of her death."

Police say they observed injuries on the right leg of Huguely that are consistent with kicking an object, such as a door.

Another warrant details how police took DNA swabs from Huguely.  He also underwent X-rays at the University of Virginia Medical Center.

Reported by Henry Graff
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