As a member of the UVA women's lacrosse team, the Cavaliers, Love scored her first goal in her first game, playing against Virginia Tech.

In that incident, he received a suspended sentence of sixty days and six months of probation, was fined, and was ordered to perform community service and participate in a drug treatment program.

[10] The 9-1-1 call from Love's roommate reported that she suffered an alcohol overdose, but detectives noticed "obvious physical injuries to her body" upon arrival.

At the Charlottesville police station, Huguely waived his Miranda rights, and narrated graphic details of his assaulting Love, stating that he kicked open her locked bedroom door, and “shook Love, and her head repeatedly hit the wall.” Huguely admitted that he took, and intended to destroy, her Apple laptop computer when he fled her apartment.

[12] Evidence that police seized from Huguely's apartment included two Apple laptop computers, a spiral notebook, two white socks, bathroom and entryway rugs, and a Virginia lacrosse shirt with a red stain.

[13] A preliminary hearing for Huguely on a first-degree murder charge was held April 11, 2011, in Charlottesville District Court.

[15] 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.

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.

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.

[20] 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.

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.

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."

[23] In late September 2012, Huguely was moved from the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail to the Powhatan Reception and Classification Center.

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).

[32][33] The Love family refiled its suit against George Huguely in 2018, and a trial began in Charlottesville District Court on April 25, 2022.

[35] At a May 6, 2010 candlelight vigil,[36] UVA president John T. Casteen III said: “My hope for Yeardley, and for you, is that her dying inspires an anger, a sense of outrage that engenders determination here; and wherever Yeardley's name is recognized, that no woman, no person in this place, this community, this state, our nation need either fear for her safety or experience violence for any reason.”[36] On May 8, 2010, a funeral Mass for Love was held at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen that was attended by around two thousand people.

[39] In 2014, the One Love Foundation released a film titled Escalation that has since become required viewing for student-athletes at a number of universities.