Romantic rival testifies at U.Va. murder trial

The romantic rival of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend testified Thursday that he saw the defendant with his arm around her neck months before her death.

Mike Burns talked about the chokehold at George Huguely's murder trial. Huguely is accused of killing Yeardley Love in May 2010 by slamming her head against a wall. Huguely's defense maintains Love died in part by taking the prescription drug Adderall and drinking alcohol.

Love was on Virginia's women's lacrosse team. Burns played for North Carolina.

Burns visited friends, including Love, in Charlottesville in late February 2010, he told jurors. He was at a social gathering at Huguely's apartment, which was directly across the hall from another lacrosse player's apartment, on Feb. 27 of that year, he said. About 120 people were at the party.

Burns said he was standing between the two apartments when he heard a girl yelling for help in Huguely's residence.

Burns testified that he opened Huguely's bedroom door and found him lying on his back with Love lying on her back directly on top of him. He said that Huguely had his arm wrapped around Love's neck, restraining her, and that she was tugging at his arms in an apparent effort to escape. Huguely released her when Burns opened the door.

"She got up and ran out of the room," he said. Love later told Burns that Huguely wanted to talk but she was resisting, Burns said.

Prosecutor David Chapman produced an email earlier this week in which Huguely accused Love of having a relationship with Burns.

"When I found out about Mike Burns, I should have killed you," the email said, according to Chapman.

Burns testified that he and Love "hooked up" several times beginning in 2008, including after the night at the party.

Huguely and Love dated for two years, but in their final year of college, the relationship turned hot and cold, with arguments and abusive emails.

Witnesses also testified to a second conflict in late April in which Love hit Huguely over the head with her purse after finding him talking to some other girls.

Huguely's friend and teammate, Tim Fuchs, said that he and Huguely had met two high school seniors who were visiting Kate Kamber, a mutual friend.

Fuchs said that Love entered their apartment uninvited, and started yelling at Huguely.

"She was upset we were up there with two girls she didn't know," Fuchs said.

Elizabeth McLean, Love's little sister in her sorority, was dating Huguely's roommate, Kevin Carroll, at the time of the incident. She said that she was in Carroll's room with the door closed while Yeardley was hitting Huguely with her purse. "I heard Yeardley and George start to bicker," she said. "I could hear her hitting him with her purse." She added that she could hear Huguely yelling "stop" and later the sounds of the contents of Love's purse hitting the floor.

At that time, McLean said she decided to intervene and escort Love out of Huguely's apartment.

Two former Huguely teammates also testified to his growing drinking problem, including a father-son golf tournament at which he began drinking at 9 a.m. and continued until he stumbled, slurred his words and made inappropriate remarks. Teammates were considering an intervention.

During earlier testimony, police officers who responded to what they thought was an alcohol overdose found Love's bruised and bloodied body, and realized her apartment was a crime scene.

Patrolman K.W. Blackwell said he arrived at the apartment and found a hole in her bedroom door and her body lying on the floor next to her bed. She was wearing only underwear.

He described seeing Love with her right eye purple and swollen shut, dried blood on her nose and mouth and scrapes under her chin. "When I saw that it was nowhere near the report that was given, (I) realized something totally different had happened," Blackwell testified.

EMT crews that followed Blackwell and his partner to Love's apartment testified about the frantic efforts to revive her.

Huguely's attorneys have said he was drunk the night Love died and incapable of plotting to kill her. They maintain Love, of Cockeysville, Md., died from a cardiopulmonary failure caused in part by Adderall and alcohol. They also said the blood found at the base of Love's brain wasn't caused by Huguely but by forceful attempts to resuscitate her.