Yeardley Love’s Mom Speaks About Daughter’s Murder On ‘Katie’
Yeardley Love‘s mother went on ABC’s Katie on Thursday to talk about domestic violence and the murder of her 22-year-old daughter two years ago.
Love was killed by her ex-boyfriend George Huguele in a drunken rage on May 3, 2010, just weeks before she was supposed to graduate from the University of Virginia, reports ABC News.
Love’s mom, Sharon, along with her sister Lexie, spoke with Katie Couric on Thursday, saying that they encouraged Yeardley to get a restraining order against Huguely, 25, after they discovered his violent past.
They spoke of their growing concern about her former boyfriend, a worry that the young lacrosse player appeared to dismiss. Reports emerged in the weeks after Yeardley Love’s death, showing that Huguely had a series of violent outbursts, including one where he was tasered by a female police officer who he threatened.
Huguely even send Yeardley an email in a jealous rage, where he said that he should have killed her. Lexie Love stated, “I never knew anybody that had done such things like that. It was shocking.” but when she suggested the restraining order, Lexie said that:
“I think she didn’t seem to think it was that big of a deal. That that was it. They were over, and she wasn’t going to be seeing him much anymore.”
On February 22, George Huguely was convicted of second-degree murder in Yeardley Love’s death, and was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crime. The Baltimore Sun reports that in the two and a half years since her daughter was murdered, Sharon Love has started a campaign to raise awareness about how serious domestic violence is.
When speaking about the anonymous victims sheltered by groups like Baltimore’s House of Ruth, Love states that:
“They’re hiding from these men. They’re the ones hiding, and these men are running free,” she says. “Something’s upside down. Things have to change. I have to make it unacceptable.”
After maintaining a public silence about Yeardley’s murder, Sharon and her other daughter, Lexie, are hoping to raise awareness about the signs of dating violence. Together with Jacquelyn Campbell, a Johns Hopkins School of Nursing professor who is one of the nation’s leading researchers in partner violence, have launched the “Be 1 for Change” campaign.
The campaign is targeting 16- through 24-year-olds through a new mobile app, as well as a public service announcement about dating violence. Sharon retired from the Baltimore City public schools this year and, while she will continue to work with the school system, plans to focus on the One Love Foundation, which she and Lexie began in Yeardley Love’s memory. The name of the foundation plays off the number that the young lacrosse player used to wear on her jersey.
