University of Virginia Student Yeardley Love Laid to Rest

May 8, 2010 — -- Yeardley Love, the 22-year-old University of Virginia student found brutally murdered Monday, was laid to rest today near her family's home in Baltimore.

Family, friends, former classmates and lacrosse teammates filled Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore this morning for a 90-minute funeral service closed to members of the media, The Associated Press reported. The service was followed by a private burial.

Today's service came after her friends gathered Friday evening in Towson, Maryland for Love's wake.

"Nobody wants to hear that such a sweet girl has suffered through such tragedy," said Love's friend, Allie Stack, on Friday.

"The whole family loved to laugh," said a family friend, Leigh Erlandson, "and it's going to be a long time until they can laugh again."

For Love's family, her mother Sharon and older sister Lexie, the last week has likely been nothing short of a nightmare, beginning with the gruesome discovery early Monday morning of Love's body, face-down and bloodied in her bed.

Scheduled to graduate on May 23 with the rest of her class, Love now will receive her degree posthumously.

Her former boyfriend, George Huguely V, a fellow fourth-year student at UVA who, like Love, played on the university's highly-ranked lacrosse teams, is charged with her murder.

Police first were called to Love's off-campus apartment at 2:15 a.m. by her roommates, who suspected that she may have just had too much to drink. But when authorities were unsuccessful reviving Love, evidence of trauma became clear and they arrested Huguely at his own apartment just a few blocks away.

Waiving his Miranda rights, Huguely told Charlottesville police that he had kicked through a door on his way to Love's bedroom. Police reported that it looked like the door to her room had been punched through, with hairs still visible hear the hole. Huguely had cuts on his leg, according to the court documents.

He told police he and Love had broken up and that he had communicated with her through e-mails. Before leaving her room, Huguely told police, according to the documents, he took her communications and "disposed of it." The police document says Huguely told investigators where to find Love's computer.

Police later reportedly seized a red-stained lacrosse T-shirt from Huguely's apartment, along with a shower curtain and a letter addressed to Love.