Criminal Lawyer Reacts to Yeardley's Boyfriend - JCS

snitching [Music] hi this is Bruce Rivers welcome to another episode of criminal lawyer reacts CLR Bruce Rivers I am that guy Bruce Rivers I am board certified criminal defense lawyer which means I go and try cases I don't just sit there and hold your hand while you plead guilty today we're going to react to a new Banger from JCS I haven't seen it I have no idea what it's even about but you guys will love it because we all love JCS don't we but before we get to that guess what this is brought to you by eforms.com eforms.com you're starting out the new year let's say You're Gonna sell your motorcycle to your great grandmother who's on her deathbed and you conned are end up paying a [ __ ] ton of money for it you don't want to come back and bite you so you get a bill of sale you ever sign an agreement where do you get that you get that on eforms.com doesn't matter what states you're in power of attorney fiction or Abella sale anything you need to eforms.com the scotchy cup don't hire a guy like me because well guess what I do I would just go to eforms.com and you know you'd have to pay a ton of money to me and I would just cut that out so go to eforms.com they got you covered let's just get right into this because I have no idea what this is even about this is uh our content genius Michael Rivers suggestion so this is just probably some guilty pleasure reacting to Crime okay all right starting off you can see this is an interrogation room you can tell by number one oh wait my ride's here just kidding um you can tell by the cinder block by the look on the guy's face because he's in custody and um and one of the things cops do actually is they'll let you sit in a room by yourself for a long time and they'll uh record you and that really is a listening and response let's talk about Miranda for one second when there's two things that have to happen with Miranda to invoke Miranda one you have to be in custody and there's got to be interrogation and they and they have to be deliberately listening response you say you wanted water didn't you oh how about if I get you a burger How about if nice cop bad cop and keep in mind they're never good cop I mean they're always out to get the you ink I'll pay you which means trying to find you guilty that's my card I know I introduced myself to you at your house but my name is Lisa Reeves okay and I am a detective here at the Charlottesville Police Department so before I came I want to talk to you I want to make sure you do understand your rights okay I want to make sure you understand your rights this is you know she's doing Miranda she has to do Miranda because it's in custody interrogation let me explain to you what's going on I understand you understand that okay today's date is May the 3rd 2010 the current time is all right your first name is George yes I didn't I didn't I didn't I did it there's no way I didn't do it no why all right we have no idea what this is even about yet and we're an hour into the interview remember what we say here what's our motto here this is our motto here you could end this interview a long time ago if you said I want to talk to my lawyer or I'm not going to talk to you without my lawyer present you want to talk to alert yeah I want to talk to a lawyer they have to stop questioning immediately and now he's in handcuffs so somewhere between then and now he's now in handcuffs meaning he probably was getting a little boy drink why do you guys say why did you guys come in and say you were searching for an assault I never said anything about himself I never mentioned to you anything just told you we're investigating so I wanted to know so you think they call anybody for your door it's an interesting concept to think of how you might respond to what would normally be an easy question especially during a circumstance where it becomes a terrifying dilemma we ask that you contemplate this question while you put yourself in Georgia's position but not before you grasp the context of what brought him to this moment it begins with 22 year old Sports scholar Yardley love a star lacrosse player at the University of Virginia she is captured in this Photograph playing in the second to last game of the season clearly aware of the obstacles that lie in front of her yet continuing to move forward which is the circumstantial detail that turned this picture into a symbol for the globally recognized organization that would be founded in her memory this would be the last photograph taken that day capturing yardley's last Embrace with her head coach Julie Myers both were unaware this exact moment would soon be on the national front pages on May 3rd 2010 at roughly 2 15 a.m yardley's roommate returned from a night out to their off-campus apartment upon entering she saw that yardley's bedroom had been broken into at which point she rushed inside to find her unresponsive on the mattress she had blood coming out of her nose and severe bruising across the right side of her face but the most alarming thing was that she wasn't waking up her friend called 9-1-1 who instantly guided her through the steps of CPR which was then taken over by paramedics who arrived on the scene four minutes later but their attempts at Revival so let's just talk about self snitching for one second when you sat down with the cops you have no idea what they know what they don't know even if you are innocent and I don't know if this guy's innocent or not my guess is because of JCS is doing a video on it he's probably not and let's give some love to JCS he does a really good job but when you are in that hot seat and you could unwittingly corroborate some facts of the case that put a nail in your coffin even if you're innocent so that's why we don't want to give an interview unsuccessful and Yardley was pronounced dead at exactly 2 47 am at 2 53 that same morning criminal investigator Lisa Reeves woke up to a phone call from the sheriff's office by 2 59 she had arrived at yardley's apartment leading the investigation and by 350 confirmed that she had her first person of interest which was 22 year old George Hughley V yardley's ex-boyfriend and the next several hours were spent gathering information before she knocked at his front door she found out that George was a fifth generation heir to a very wealthy American Family whose Roots lay in Lumber dating back to the 1900s he was educated at Landon prep a prestigious all boys private school in Bethesda Maryland with annual tuition fees of up to fifty thousand dollars George was the star player of the lacrosse team and became an All-American athlete this led to a full scholarship at the University of Virginia where he remained a key player in the starting lineup and where he would also meet then spark a romance with fellow lacrosse player Yardley love they dated for almost two years so the boyfriend or the close associate or husband or fiance or whatever is always going to be the first person that they look at somebody close somebody the closest and that would be the person that they're not looking at right Love's relationship was an on-again off-again one where they cheated on each other throughout and that tempers flared both ways what was going on with these two young people what may have led someone to do what happens these are just so completely unbelievable set of facts everybody watched the relationship people were really troubled by it they were scared for her and nobody knew what to do Yardley ended the relationship in 2010 just two weeks before graduation nine days later she was found dead in her bedroom and that same morning George Hughley would hear a knock at his front door he opened to detective Lisa Reeves who was dressed in civilian clothing she introduced herself as a police officer but mentioned nothing of the crime she simply stated that she was conducting an investigation that could benefit from his presence at the Sheriff's Office George's response was to lethargically put on his flip-flops then walk over to the passenger side door of her unmarked police car and let himself in somewhat bewildered Lisa got in and drove them to the police station a few minutes away without talking it was around then when she noticed bruising on his knuckles and cuts on his forearm at which point George was no longer a person of interest he was the Prime Suspect so bruising on your knuckles cuts on his forearm when you have physical injuries that could be innocently describe you know caused from something else this is a circumstantial case because there's no eyewitness right so they take little bits here little bits here little bits there and that's how they build a case especially a circumstantial case and you know the difference between circumstantial and direct evidence direct evidences I saw him stab her circumstantial evidence is you see tracks in the snow where you can see somebody at walk so you can infer from that circumstance that somebody had walked in the snow I know I introduced myself to you at your house but my name is Lisa Reeves today's date is May the 3rd 2010 the current time is I can't tell him that much 752 okay what's that my drama's paper still right now all right your first name is George yes right away you'll come to notice that George is oblivious to the gravity of his situation and it would be very safe to assume that he at this moment is unaware that Yardley has died he seems to believe that he's in as much trouble as he would be sitting in a principal's office perhaps for getting in a fight at class or on the lacrosse field let me tell you something about people who are fifth generation wealth or whatever A lot of times they are entitled and don't think anything bad is ever going to happen to them and if he thinks he just beat her up and she passed out um not knowing she's dead that could explain why he is the way he is he provides a sanitized version of the truth the sooner he'll get to go home this of course ties in perfectly with the interrogator's opening strategy which we've labeled warmth for the sake of this video she will downplay the severity of his situation to a considerable degree while maintaining a friendly temperament with a sympathetic undertone she needs the suspect to feel safe and secure for the time being as and it's not illegal for the cops to lie to you okay so that's they do that all the time they try to create an atmosphere of cooperation or we're not here to really [ __ ] your program up you know we just want to get to the bottom of what happened you'll just help us do that as cautious he is the more information he's likely to give away then as soon as he locks himself into one particular storyline the pressure can commence which often leads to a suspect being Laden with panic and contradictions before we ask me any questions you must understand you're right you have the right to remain solid anything you say can be used against you in court you have the right to talk to a lawyer before questioning and have one present during questioning if you cannot afford lawyer one will be provided for you and if you're willing to talk to us now you got the right stop talking anytime George has two options here option one is to remain silent then allow his father to get him the most expensive attorneys in the country he would then have years to examine the evidence evaluate the many options available and then construct the most self-preserving storyline with world-renowned experts in criminal defense before they present it to a jury unfortunately for George he takes option two but before he does re-watch the flawlessly reassuring manner in which he's given the final piece of the Miranda warning and if you're willing to talk to us now you got the right stop talking anytime got it yup awesome just need your thing for there that you understand your rights this is a critical critical critical stage and I can't tell you how many cases I could have won but for my client's mouth whether you're guilty or not the advice still holds because you don't know what you're going to say to eventually trigger something that will corroborate some other fact in the case that hangs you on the talk to us and Tom now is 753. all right let's kind of start I'm going to kind of ask you some questions like I said we'll explain things a little bit later um tell me about your day yesterday played golf with um our parents as a of a father son um could have been I went to dinner with my dad my two bodies and then uh went home went to the bar for like a little while um then I went over to talk to Yardley and he just places himself at the scene they didn't have any of this information prior to him going there or maybe they did have some but they just made himself the last one to see her alive essentially normally is by a former girlfriend which is holding about which I understand but George has now initiated the investigative subject matter himself it's the perfect opening scenario for the interrogator because she's given nothing away right now I know this is about Yardley so you see he just he just screwed himself he just absolutely screwed himself because he is now the last person to see her and he knows what this is about get more likely for him to reveal details that will contradict the evidence when I went over to talk to you already I I like was a Yardley and she was like already like totally freaked out become because of what she did this past like a few days ago and she we hadn't told her since I was just gonna go talk to her Yardley slept with another lacrosse and I was just gonna go talk to her I was just going to go talk to her but instead I beat the [ __ ] out of her that's essentially what he's trying to say player from North Carolina the week before which is what he just referred to and she's already like oh like freaking out like you know you can't go any camera and I was like I'm like just trying to talk to you the investigation team obviously had no way of knowing this and George has now confessed to the crime of second-degree trespass more importantly however he's just confessed to initiating the supposed confrontation he now can't say that he was somehow tricked or misled into that situation he knowingly stepped into it and the critical fact he can actually recognize and remember this will be used against him repeatedly in the future and is she like started being like like getting like all like you know like really like defensive she was already like on the defensive Edge and like I was like listen I'm not here like I'm just gonna talk to you and she like got all like like sat up I got her beds against the wall like if it was in this corner she was like up against the wall and I was like like we were sitting there talking and like started being like like you know like getting like all like aggressive after this and so I was like oh I'd like chill out like and choke her a little bit so just to recount what George said over so he admits to shaking her so I just shook her a little bit because you know because every good girl needs to go shaking once in a while I mean guys let me just tell you something don't ever put your [ __ ] hands on a woman even if she's putting her hands on you guess what who goes to jail you go to jail every time not a hat it's just never worth it if it gets to that point turn around walk the [ __ ] away but he should never even been in there in the first place guess what this is fueled by what alcohol it's fueled by uh betrayal it's fueled by a bunch of [ __ ] and it made no sense for him to go there after drinking if he he should have just texted her and and said all these nasty [ __ ] in attacks guess what if he said this nasty [ __ ] in a text I'm not saying you should say that but if he did that I guess she'd still be alive and he wouldn't be on the [ __ ] hook for murder last 47 seconds Yardley was defense although this was 2010 I don't think people texted much in 2010. if while being in a defensive State she backed up against the wall she then became aggressive George's response to this supposed aggression was to initiate physical contact started being like like freaking out and I was like listen I'm not like here to do anything I'm here to talk to you about everything that's insane I'm here to talk to you talk to you totally and shoot fight and like sort of like be like no no like a kid in their head like just like stop like she's in the courthouse stop like I was like you're gonna be like what the hell like we were just gonna talk so let's go back half a minute and dissect what actually just happened there and so I was like all right like chill out like and choke her a little bit he will now say the words and she started being like then simultaneously mimic a body colliding with the wall he will then stop himself mid-thought and subtly modify the detail she started being like like freaking out and I was like listen and she started being like like freaking out he goes from illustrating Yardley hitting the wall to as he States freaking out now keep in mind when you go to trial a prosecutor is going to play this statement and he they're gonna cover this word by word by word action by action by action they're gonna pick every little tiny thing apart and guess what you get to do when you're a defense lawyer and your client of Sydney you get to [ __ ] take it that's all you can do he seems to realize mid-sentence this isn't the best way to explain her injuries so he changes the detail to buy himself time start being like like freaky out and I was like listen I'm not like here to do anything I'm here to talk to you he carefully shifts the topic from Yardley to himself and keeps it there for eight seconds before attempting to re-explain what occurred in a more self-preserving manner and like sort of like be like no no like a hidden her head like no jury on the planet will believe that Yardley was voluntarily slamming her head against the wall with enough Force to cause fatal brain damage all George has done here is give away the fact that he knows Yardley has sustained some type of head injury and now lied on record about how it was inflicted this little detail s would not be present for the cops to use if he didn't give a statement now does that mean that I advocate domestic violence or that I advocate getting domestic abusers off no but as a criminal defense lawyer that's what I do and so it just kills me when you take away an argument that I could have made her you know on on the evidence but you get you give it away and in a way it makes our job a little bit easier in some respects because if they commit they admit to the crime but here's the here's the juxtaposition on that is that if he gives a statement that's inconsistent with with the physical evidence you can't really have them testifying or you have to have them testify and you're gonna get [ __ ] either way ignore me like what the hell like we were just gonna talk and like it was not at all like and he keeps saying we were just going to talk we're just gonna talk you know talk me and my just gonna I we're not here to do anything why would he have to say that why the [ __ ] would he have to say that you know why because he's probably beat her before that is my guess and he has to convince I mean there's part of what he's saying is probably true that he I'm just want to talk to you and and so by telling her I'm just here to talk he has to convince her that because he's probably put his hands on her before conversation because that's like she was already like freaking out with just even seeing me just even seeing me there okay what happened next what happened okay so notice the the investigator actually is just calm and it's just what happened next you tell the story you dig your own grave dig your head is like and grab it I like sugar girls and stuff like we need to like I don't want it or I was like we need to like talk about this like I mean I was all over all over the stuff but like I never struck her I never like hit her hit her like in the face or anything I was just saying I never I never hit her I never hit her she just wouldn't listen you know I mean he's giving them just like how he did it and he's using his left hand he talking she was so like so like oh I don't know what's the word like you know it's like a fish out of the water like it's like so like all this and I was like listen like I'm not here to like fight with you or like do anything like here talk to you and like and she's like no no like get away from it yeah no no get away from me okay he's got to convince himself to get get him in there get himself into the apartment to begin with he has to convince her that he's not doing anything and then he tells the cop get away from me I mean what the [ __ ] you have to leave if we leave she tells him to leave I mean these are details they didn't have I was like all right they finally but like I want to talk to you after all this and and like I was I was like a little bit persistent because of the situation you know my former girlfriend who at least something happened last week you know and I was something happened last week what else does he give him what else does he give him motive you know I mean she's sleeping with another guy and so now you got she doesn't want anything to do with you you're pissed off and you won't [ __ ] leave and then she's somehow hurting herself because she's really so upset with what she did I don't think so darling well so we're talking over there and I mean I somehow we ended up somehow is requesting to her own floor and I was just saying stop I just like and I was holding her I was holding her I was a little bit persistent I was wrestling her on the floor all further evidence that designates George is the aggressor he's completely shut down his ability to argue any sort of self-defense claim well that's a good point about self-defense because self-defense is only available if you have no other option and and your actions have to be reasonable and in Most states if you're not in your own home you have a duty to retreat unless you're going to stay in your ground state but you can't be the initial aggressor period but as JCS is you know going through parsing out everything he's saying guess what a prosecutor does 10 times worse and if your client testifies every little word every little word gets shoved up your client's ass and then the conversation I could tell was just like it was not going anywhere and nothing was happening then [ __ ] leave leave and let her live putting your hands on a woman is not a [ __ ] good idea gentlemen period and she like went back to bed and I and I laugh when I went back home phase one is now complete the suspect has unknowingly locked himself into a storyline that will put him away for a very long time the risk of him shutting down or requesting a lawyer is no longer a primary concern so the interrogator will now increase the pressure she will confront him on certain elements that she pretended to overlook before and the ideal scenario is to cause just enough Panic so that he backpedals on previous statements and contradicts himself so him contradicting himself is kind of important because if he ever is going to testify later he's got to seem not credible according to the prosecutor and the cops so you go over there knock on the door are your front door is open her room door was closed I knocked like like you're already like she heard me open the door and and went up all right went in where to a room right straight to our bedroom yeah I mean how'd you get through the door or the front door her door all right actually it might have been lost it was [Music] so okay now we got a new detail that he didn't disclose earlier and think about this you punch a hole in the [ __ ] door that tells me who who does that tell you is out of control tells you that he's out of control [Music] what would you do that yeah when I once I was in a room she was like very like you know like I don't want to talk to you like old stuff and she was very like you know hair on edge like gee you think you'd be on edge when somebody just broke your [ __ ] door down I mean I've never had anybody break into my goddamn door I mean you know what if you have to break your door down to talk to somebody guess what they don't want to [ __ ] talk to you and if they don't want to talk to you guess what you walk away you don't sit there and do this [ __ ] I'm going to be honest with you guys representing wife beaters or girlfriend beaters or women beaters is the [ __ ] worst thing on the [ __ ] planet honestly you know I hate them because number one they almost never [ __ ] pay you uh what your what your fee is oh we'll give you you know whatever second of all nothing is ever their fault it's always her fault and third of all it's just [ __ ] ugly pains in the asses this is what I'm talking about I don't want to talk about you know then don't [ __ ] talk to her Jesus Christ respect a woman's autonomy and agency [Music] way before last week was outrageous like I just want to talk to you what you pulled last week was outrageous you [ __ ] another guy on the lacrosse team and that made me look bad so that's outrageous a very unusual time to interrupt a suspect in such a contentious manner he was giving away self-incriminating information that could be used to establish a motive he was doing exactly what the lead investigator wanted but detective Ed has now stopped him in his tracks it's a reckless maneuver at this point in the interrogation which detective Reeves is no doubt conveying at this moment through non-verbal communication she now has to let the suspect respond as to not undermine their position because I want doctor detective Reeves will now bring his guard back down through a reassuring tone and gently guide his train of thought back to his grievances with the victim she pulls this off in three questions all right we'll continue on [Music] Gene and then like you know what you're talking about I mean about so many different things okay like what like what she did last week it keeps focusing on what she did last week um and what she did last week was uh she screwed another guy so the [ __ ] what I mean you guys aren't even together I went to Lake Carolina she went to Carolina and hooked up with someone Sunday when we were still trying to figure out things and I was over there like like to talk like I was like this is like this is outrageous what's more outrageous sleeping with somebody or killing somebody because they slept with somebody what's more outrageous I gave me a [ __ ] break because I was trying to make everything better and by putting bruises in multiple contusions in a brain injury into her head and then like and busting down her [ __ ] doors making things better come on no she was very defensive because she knew like how set I was because I've told her like through emails like how sad I was like about which oh my God could it get any worse for this guy number one okay so I was really upset I mean you have no idea how upset I was I sent her an email so upset I was and uh you know I busted down her door she didn't want to talk to me kept telling me to leave this really is described and plus he's after the bar so this is a guy out of control dead and so I was like and I said oh man I was like listen like I want to talk to you like like what you did was [ __ ] like that was that's not like okay and I was just like I like and and she's like oh like not like like you know she like not responds because I guess I hit her too hard I mean give me a [ __ ] break you know sort of pushing everything that she did to the back burner and like talking about like like you know like they try to like put everything that she did like wasn't important it kept going to the point where she see here's the other thing about these guys who are [ __ ] abusers they are so self-absorbed they're the victim in every scenario every scenario oh you're [ __ ] me over that's what he's talking about here you know poor me poor me poor me guess what she cheated on you or didn't you weren't even together but she did that because she was getting something from someplace else you weren't giving her like I was like listen like normally like we have to figure like out what's going on every ounce of what he says negates any any claim of self-defense you know Iran or she was hurting my hand with her face I mean give me a [ __ ] break he's got no claim of self-defense here whatsoever and he's got no claim that I wasn't there he's got no claim that I didn't do this what he does have a claim is maybe it was heat a passion maybe but it's got to be under circumstances that would cause an ordinary person to act in a similar way and it's just catching your wife in bed with another man and you shoot the other guy that can be like key to Passion but or something similar you know where it just arouses you you say you kind of go ape [ __ ] for no reason well for for a reason but but this is not it I'm good we have to talk like it's like yeah and he's like he's showing her how he's [ __ ] shaking the [ __ ] out of her because she doesn't want to talk come on man Matt what are you cold on Earth on her arms like maybe up here make sure it's your shoulders like come on like you know and see that's when she was like wiggle and get away and like that looks like she's having a seizure and if we're probably getting struck in the [ __ ] head because that's what will happen if you get struck in the head like that you'll have a seizure across like defensively almost um she's acting defensively I mean this guy couldn't make it any [ __ ] worse for himself you know and that's why I love these guys who are overprivileged and you know they have too much money and they just think they're going to talk their way out of anything and then she ended I think she was back in bed and I'm and I left from like this this is not what I had to get back to bed we were like wrestling and we stood up and I I paused her I pushed her on the bed I was like go to bed like I'll talk to you later did you touch her neck area at all did you choke her at one point um I may have grabbed her a little bit by the neck I may have grabbed her a little bit on the neck I did everything except for killer give me a [ __ ] break what a dumb [ __ ] I mean what an honest dumb [ __ ] I mean I just can't believe how stupid some people are we right but I never like Strang with her okay um but I I put my hands around her neck but I never did done Strangler give me a [ __ ] break not none of this you can't do anything with this you know you get an interview like this especially when when the cops really is not saying much at all the cops are just letting him go free form I mean during the whole like commotion you know and I we may have I might have grabbed her neck but I never never was like strangling her more detail that was unknown to the investigation the fact that he grabbed her neck can now be used as evidence it paints a more frightening picture of the incident with relation to the suspect's aggression toward the victim it just was an extremely damaging Revelation for George's defense the discussion moves to the moment he left and George admits that he took yardley's laptop because I was so pissed that she wouldn't talk to me I was like I was so pissed you know I don't know how much they had without his statement but with his statement every single little part about what they need to prove has been sealed and you can't just use somebody's statement alone it's called Corpus delecta you can't eat your own body in other words if all they have is your statement but they don't have anything corroborating it then you then that's not enough to convict somebody however they have the physical evidence and he just corroborates everything else is like collateral I guess I don't know I took it as collateral what the [ __ ] does that mean clatterful what did you borrow her some money her loan her some money and you give me a break not reasonable logic but right I don't know did you take anything else besides a laptop nothing wow all right so when uh when you left out of there I mean you saw that she was bleeding on her nose she's now about to ask a question with the same implication for a second time notice what occurred the first time did you go back and check on her at any point no I did not agree did you try to call rescue or anything make sure she's all right no I did not why I thought she was sleeping the face of bewilderment if there ever was one it's very strange that he's so taken aback by such a question especially when you take into account the possible outcome if he had actually called for help one medical expert revealed in the courtroom for the very first time that following Yardley loves brutal beating had George Hughley or anyone else called for help she might have survived now that is counterintuitive in a sense because when you commit a crime you know even if he thinks he's just committed a physical assault against another person if you you can mitigate your damages by calling for help it's called rendering Aid and actually failure to render a can be a an enhanceable factor in sentencing but think about it if he would have just said oh [ __ ] I screwed up I I really assaulted her she's unconscious I better get some help for her but instead he's only worried about his own sorry ass and that's what these narcissistic bastards do uh I didn't think it was like and I didn't think that she was like in need of like going to the emergency room I we should just kind of I made it up what do you think that I don't know I mean I I think did you say when you were incorrect me if I'm wrong when you were shaking her her head was hitting the wall well that was in the beginning that was initially when I walked in like like get out of here like you know like this at any time when you were shaking her did her head bang the wall put yourself in George's position and imagine Yardley had in fact self-inflicted her injuries you would perhaps say something along the lines of absolutely not I wasn't hitting her against the wall of the leg but she's like sitting there in the corner of like if you're really early like this and I'm like or be like you know and I I was like like what the [ __ ] was that about like that did such [ __ ] that you like do that like it's such a he keeps going back over and over again how he got [ __ ] over how she screwed some other guy how he is the victim like [ __ ] move like would like you know like everybody here what are you really doing like like that like she has a pretty good knot on her head that's why I'm asking how that how you can explain how that would have happened I mean I don't even know when that I'm not like on the side of her head she's been hit pretty good right there so I'm just trying to figure out did you hit her with something no I never never touched her struck her or anything well you thought straight you had your hands on you know yeah no and I said never struck her okay so you you I'm gonna go through this one more time make sure we're on the same page so you're you're pretty pissed at her from a week ago first thing you was text messages do you have those text messages where she says she as you put it [ __ ] somebody I actually might have those you know all right you got your phone with you yeah okay let's let's pull it out let's see if we can see this the next moment is fascinating because it symbolizes how drastically George's life is about to change the interrogator will invade his personal space to make sure he's not deleting anything from his phone soon after that she will take the phone out of his hand and place it on the table actions that would be completely unacceptable in almost any other circumstance thank you [Music] like an ongoing conversation ongoing like it's a message and it's gone okay all right let's talk about how you you entered yeah yeah I mean because to put your to have put your fist through the door yeah because that's what it was yeah you're right yeah yeah how did you get all the bruising on your hands then this is all from the cross that's pretty fresh right and don't you wear gloves on the cross kind of like hockey gloves a little bit it looks this is all for my lacrosse game on Saturdays are right here my gloves right here even right there I thought you you wore those padded gloves this is awesome this is all the difference this is all for you across and that I got wax here I remember 100 got whacked during the game when I was trying to like kill the clock when when you had her and you're shaking and she scratchy anywhere no no no one of the things that you'll see in victims of domestic abuse when they have an attacker they'll try to gouge you know and they'll look under their fingernails and so the first thing that the medical examiners investigators do when they show up on scene they will wrap the hands in paper they tie them down here time down here and they preserve whatever's on their hands so there's gunshot residue or if there's uh DNA of the attacker under their fingernails that's one of the things that they look for a little girl she's tiny yeah [Music] or anything like that no okay so you you kick in the door that's how I imagine yeah okay and then I stuck my head through and unlocked and went in there and in his Saving Grace he does not describe murder one and that means he want to go to there to talk to her and I had no intention of killing her so to that extent maybe you could finagle you know a murder three or or it's more than manslaughter but maybe not an intentional murder too or felony murder everything else is weird the detectives leave the room for roughly three minutes when they return it appears Ed is given the chance to lead with a few of his own questions I know we touched about what what happened last night but set it up for me to clean it up to me a little bit here why did you guys break up exactly why wallet yeah well we are not we are not from the same area right and I'm going or she wants me to New York and I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing yet but I'd like to move to San Francisco why'd you take a computer I don't know I have no idea maybe because there's evidence on the computer emails that you sent no there's no I mean you can find you can read all the emails and everything back and forth detective Ed now asks George if he held Yardley down on the bed he's trying to subtly set the grounds for an argument of smothering which isn't a terrible idea but would be disproven by the autopsy regardless no no did you fall down on top of her you know arresting on the ground for like a little don't wrestling event at all no I never really no no like yeah chauffeur no I mean like just kind of hold her down until she calmed down on bed no if anything else I mean I mean if anything that would have been like on the floor when we were on the floor when her nose started bleeding it isn't a smothering case it is I beat the [ __ ] out of her and she died case around in the afternoon already no I mean she's screaming which contradicts yeah her saying she is freaking out how do you freak out without screaming yeah no I mean she was not screaming yeah she should have been probably I mean maybe yeah he should have been probably I mean maybe she should have been well why should she have been screaming what the [ __ ] why should she have been screaming because you were torturing the [ __ ] out of her that could be a good reason for screaming she should have been screaming I mean how do you not I mean you can't as a defense lawyer there's nothing I can do with that statement as a prosecutor I can do a whole [ __ ] log with that statement oh boy I mean maybe yeah she should have been probably I mean maybe honestly what do you think I don't know I mean well she was screaming when I first like came into the room she was like no like I'm not talking related to people that I remember she was terrified guarantee this isn't the first time he put his hands on her and that's probably why they broke up all that but like at any point before you said you and this was your word you said you tossed her on the bed and then you left yeah all right at any point before that did she lose consciousness no okay what happened after you told her on the bed did she moved sometimes you can go to sleep with a bad head injury and just never wake up talk about say something I mean I literally it's also a bedroom turn around and poster on the ground walked out the door okay so when you tossed her back on the beds she's a young lady little especially compared to him because he's a decent sized guy and he tosses her on the bed what you've seen here described in his own words is just a horrific callous sense of entitlement by somebody who feels like he got [ __ ] over and he's gonna let her have it and then his last final parting gesture is him tossing her on the bed as if she's just not worth it in your mind she's she's bleeding but you said she was bleeding out her nose and you didn't you didn't feel like you needed to call rescue no after that after banging her head and shaking her and blood coming out her nose on the floor yeah see there's no way to answer that in a positive way that's going to help him this is why these these interviews almost never helped the defendant there's nothing about like you missed anything that no one asking right now there's nothing about going going to get anything or going you know I don't know why it's living here George Rambles about why there was no reason for taking the laptop for another 20 seconds during which time detective Reeves decides that enough information has been attained phase two is now complete and the fate of Yardley is about to be revealed these moments in interrogations are considered important for the purpose of gauging a suspect's response it's believed that a sharp and sudden Revelation can make it difficult to fabricate emotion So in theory this will cause a suspect to provide either a genuine response or a relatively obvious disingenuous response which often comes in the pretense of shock or remorse I mean I guess that's where my logic was out but which is well I have to taste I think I know why you took the computer in the midst of what would have been a flawlessly executed moment detective Ed jumps back into the laptop mystery the suspect has essentially confessed to murder this and you don't need who gives a [ __ ] about the laptop honestly it wasn't the time for regurgitated conjecture over a petty theft misdemeanor which Ed was clearly being advised of once again through non-verbal communication well that is pretty funny to look at her expressions like why the [ __ ] are you bringing that up she's dead he killed George he killed her Ed I think he knew that already no I did not in our opinion George is being truthful here and we believe the interrogator feels the same way in this moment and that is good from one standpoint is that it can be classified as an unintentional homicide however certain states have domestic abuse homicide which can carry with it life without parole she's dead how [ __ ] is she dead because he killed her George how the [ __ ] is she died because you killed her George appears to be going through a delayed response it's so foreign a revelation that it's yet to sink in once the shock settles he refuses to accept it and this denial appears to be a momentary coping mechanism before the reality of a situation truly hits him which will happen at this time in the footage I told you how you already told us how as well oh you just told us oh my God you went in there to talk with her but I got out of control right George the detectives will now add further pressure to keep him talking suspects will often divulge information in these moments and the panicked attempt to save themselves and in doing so can shut down a more credible storyline they haven't thought up yet the alcohol gonna hold you he kicked in her door started to fight with you you punched her in the head or your crush not uh you crack your head you crack your head in the window or in the wall she is she's not I ain't BS and you right now I'm serious I want to see I want to see her George Michael George she is dead you were not here to dance with us you're here because she's dead the alcohol I don't believe it I don't believe that's true dude I didn't I didn't I did it I don't believe that she's dead I don't believe that she's deaf I don't believe it did you punch her did you hear her she said there's no way she's dead she's not dead I didn't I never did anything I didn't I didn't I'm in a case where a guy fell in the ice caused by a push by my client and the guy didn't die for five days until five days later so these head injuries can have a delayed reaction I did not all right let's let's calm down I did not like hurt her like she's not dead just out of protocol what we got to do is stand up foreign oh my God there's no way there's no way there's no way I do not believe it and not believe it there's no way there's no way she could be dead either the head trauma or asphyxiation there was no appreciation okay I've got plenty of head trauma oh my God so you get [ __ ] over so you get your heart broken a little bit move the [ __ ] on you know you don't take it out on somebody like that you never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never ever ever [ __ ] put your goddamn hands on a woman you just don't [ __ ] do it period she's like standing up with me you're standing up with it she's standing openly looked at me and she's standing here holding you were holding her and you oh look at it but that doesn't mean she couldn't die from brain injuries later [Music] I think [Music] she can't I'll be dead I know I know it didn't it didn't it didn't it didn't it did not it didn't it didn't and she's like no no like get away from it you have to leave until you you have to leave I was didn't it didn't it didn't it didn't but I shook the [ __ ] out of her and caused these injuries I didn't just oh my God I didn't kill her killer I kill her I did not I did not there's no way I can't do it no way well sorry George you're in an interrogation room in handcuffs and about to go into a cold cell with a jumpsuit and and I hope you like bologna sandwiches because uh you're gonna be the fifth generation addicted to bologna sandwiches in custody now he wants a lawyer now he wants a [ __ ] lawyer oh Jesus Christ well they gotta talk stop all questioning now gee I now that I'm really [ __ ] I want a lawyer what a dumb [ __ ] just a this is one of the dumbest guys I've ever seen I want a lawyer they should stop it immediately should I talk for so long time a lawyer a lawyer what do I get appointed to you okay what do I do now go to jail all right George right now I know you're you've no longer on talk to us that's why I just let you know something we're working on a search warrant right now and what it is is we're going to have to collect some stuff from you like what's called a buckle swab okay why didn't you guys say why you guys come in and say you're searching for an assault now it's back to I am the one who is the victim here why did you guys [ __ ] me over with it you know George at the start of this video you were asked to think of what you would do in this situation really try and imagine what would be going through your mind in this moment as you might just gain a restorative Outlook from both knowing the answer while not having to answer this particular question and this is where George just realized he [ __ ] up but there is of course no possible way you will gain anything close to the Newfound perspective George has acquired In This Moment which unfortunately for him is no longer of use I don't know about that what's your mom's name okay I don't believe in the house there's no way oh no there's no way there's no way there's no foreign these next few moments are returning point the leg iron seemed to initiate a shift in his Constitution and his denial will completely cease from this point forward he will continue to ask why and how but he will no longer reject the severity of what is happening oh my God we're a long way from the beginning of this interview so if you look at this we're into this like an hour and 18 minutes right so it's only taken that long to get this full story from him and I think he was probably largely being truthful he I don't think he realized from his own narcissism how he was inculating himself but a lot he's more conniving and like Jody areas for example those interviews take place over days you know hours and um we don't have that here they this is actually a pretty succinct interview huh heck every day but for the rest of my life I'm sorry for the rest of my life in this room no I'm in jail are you working yeah you are going well I'm sorry you call my mom yeah you do want to talk to her now when you need your family the most but and here's the other thing you call your mom that's gonna be recorded too I personally don't understand putting your hands on a woman like that I just it it is just so wrong you know and I know I'm gonna get some heat from guys saying what if she did this what is she when are you with a baseball bit you know [ __ ] that you know you just don't put your hands on a woman period period end of story [Music] I didn't even hurt her oh my God you killed that poor girl George was taken to the Regional Jail soon after this moment he would go on to plead not guilty to murder and was held without bond for almost two years awaiting trial it began on February 6 2012. well testimony is now underway in the murder trial of the former UVA lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend so you take it into custody and generally speaking when it's a situation like this you have a bond hearing and bond on something like this in my last case that I had a bond hearing on something like this they asked for two million dollars I got it reduced down to 500 000 but when you have a situation like this some states have it where you can be held without bond first time we have video of hugely as he was led into the courtroom contrary to his appearance in the days that followed his arrest for the murder of 22 year old Yardley love he appeared pale frail and gaunt the prosecution presented a case that hugely went to Love's apartment that night busted through her bedroom door and in some ways struck her causing blunt force trauma which led to her death we've also learned that on that night George hugley was exchanging what were described as playful text messages with three other women those why the [ __ ] honestly hey why why do that you can get laid someplace else but you felt so disrespected you felt so wronged come on man message has continued late into the night and even after the alleged attack throughout this trial Huguley has sat expressionless almost stoic at the defense table all of that changed today as this police interview was airing Huguley began crying was often pinching the bridge of his nose with his you know what that means that means oh I'm so [ __ ] that's what that means and and looking down as they listened to the sound of his own hysterical voice I did not kill her I did not kill her I did not I did not in court Tuesday hughley's defense faced an uphill climb the most riveting testimony came from former UNC lacrosse player Michael Burns who testified that one time while visiting UVA he heard some yelling for help from hughley's apartment when he opened the door he said he found hugely with his arm wrapped around Love's neck choking her cute really well that's a lovely image good thing somebody else was there on that particular occasion didn't I tell you I said that this wouldn't have been the first time that he that he put his hands on her then let her go and she ran out of the room crying a variety of medical experts took the stand this Wednesday and they all seemed to agree that Love's death was the result of blunt force trauma to the Head this was followed by highly distressing witness testimony from yardley's Neighbors the noise was so loud this was such a violent death that they heard at downstairs two separate Witnesses and it there's a lovely person like a stereo crashing to the ground and it certainly didn't help that the jury knew that she was alive for two hours before she died indicating that if George Hughley had come to his senses he could have gone back there called 9-1-1 and possibly saved her life still the driving argument for the defense is that George Hughley never intended to kill they say this was all a tragic accident that he does not deserve a life sentence but instead a lesser charge and a second chance that's the only thing they could do with that and with his confession that's the only thing you can do is say it was and just go on the one element of intent guilty of second-degree murder and you will hear the sentence momentarily a 26-year prison term came down George Hughley was brought to court to hear his lawyers plead for the judge to cut in half the 26-year sentence recommended by the jury judge Edward hoagshire did trim it back but by just three years the jury in this case recommended 26 years the judge changed it to 23 probably a small difference but but why would he do that it's surprising isn't it death in her own bed we think that George was convicted of a crime inconsistent with the facts and he received a penalty inconsistent with what the evidence would require there are no winners in this case with credit for the time that George Hughley has already served in jail and if he gets time off for good behavior he could be out in 18 years and the family for Yardley love has put out this statement saying we find no joy in other sorrow we are relieved to put this chapter behind us as for George he was incarcerated at the maximum security Augusta Correctional Center for 10 years and has since been transferred to a prison Work Camp in Richmond where he's expected to serve out the rest of his sentence the present consensus in the media is that George had no intention of killing Yardley but that his 23-year sentence is still appropriate if not lenient and that him being drunk to any degree at the time of the murder is not an excuse nor does it lessen the culpability of his actions to any extent he'll be released at the age of 45 meaning he will have the second chance at life Yardley was never afforded you can decide for yourself whether he deserves it or not that was our reaction to the to yardley's murder and uh George hugely the fifth and it's just so preventable so preventable when we talk about domestic abuse it's not a funny joke even though I joked around a little bit during this it was just that his [ __ ] stupidity it all can be avoided you know I put out messages for all you guys to build build your relationships build your education build your financial future build on the things that are good in you and get rid of the things that are bad at you and if you're one of these guys who can't take no for an answer figure out your [ __ ] otherwise you're going to wind up like George just makes no sense to have a situation where you can't control yourself so you got to put your hands on somebody never a good idea ever it doesn't ever work I love you so much you love me even more if I beat the [ __ ] out of you I mean come on I I don't know he was found guilty of second-degree murder in Minnesota's second degree murder is 306. that's 25 and a half years so that's consistent with what we have here if it was an intentional homicide so he does get another shot at life she doesn't I don't think it was an intentional homicide but it's not mitigated by his alcohol intake like it's like they said here and it's not me and it's exacerbated by the fact that she's in her own bed with the door locked and trying to get him to leave it's a domestic abuse homicide so to me that elevates it a little bit but his lawyers did a good job he's out you know in what in about six years he'll be out so this is Bruce Rivers criminal lawyer reacts we'll see you next time make sure you subscribe follow us on Instagram follow us on Twitter uh sign up for patreon we're doing some good work there and we'll see you next time here on criminal lawyer reacts he know all the charges that you about to face you ain't coming home till 2058 that sell snitching gonna get you put away Bruce Rivers just broke down your case [Music]

Channel: CLR Bruce Rivers

Views: 681,519

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Id: 0iOyxf5BK_Y

Length: 67min 17sec (4037 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 26 2022