The suspect in the University of Virginia shooting faces new INCREASED charges in the murder of three Cavaliers football players in 2022 and could face up to life in prison if convicted
- Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. is accused of shooting three ex-teammates to death
- Victims of the shooting included Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
The suspect accused of fatally shooting three University of Virginia football players in 2022 now faces upgraded murder charges, which would result in a mandatory life sentence if convicted at trial.
A special grand jury in Charlottesville handed down the new aggravated murder charges against Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. issued. They are the most serious murder charges available in Virginia after the death penalty was abolished in 2021.
Jones was a UVA student in November 2022 and a former member of the football team when police said he opened fire on a charter bus that had been returning students from a field trip.
Football players Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were killed, while a fourth member of the team, Mike Hollins, and another student were injured.
Jones was initially charged with second-degree murder after his arrest.
A special grand jury issued the new aggravated murder charges against Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a former football team player accused of killing ex-teammates
This combination of undated images provided by the University of Virginia Athletics shows NCAA college football players, from left to right: Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry. The three Virginia football players were killed in a shooting in Charlottesville while returning from a school trip
Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingeley said in a news release that the new charges were filed Wednesday.
Liz Murtagh, the Charlottesville and Albemarle County public defender assigned to represent Jones, said she regrets the prosecution chose this route but declined further comment.
The ruling comes a week after Hollins led the Cavaliers football team onto the field in the season opener for his emotional return to the field.
Virginia coach Tony Elliott had said before the game that every day is a triumph as they begin their second season together.
“Every day we stay awake and come to work we put our best foot forward, that’s the triumph of it all,” Elliott said. “And now we have the opportunity to demonstrate on a national level how resilient the human spirit is.”
There are reports that Jones was angry with members of the team.
UVA student Ryan Lynch explains CNN in 2022 that Jones pressed Davis before saying, “You guys always fool me.”
Lynch said the comment was “very bizarre because they didn’t talk to him the entire trip.”
Virginia running back and survivor Mike Hollins led the team out of the tunnel last Saturday
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan speaks during a memorial service for three slain University of Virginia football players, Lavel Davis Jr., DSean Perry and Devin Chandler
It was then that Jones allegedly started shooting.
Jones first came to the attention of the university’s threat assessment team in the fall of 2022 after a person unaffiliated with the school reported a comment Jones apparently made about owning a gun, the university’s police chief said Timothy Longo Sr. Longo at the time.
No threat was reported in connection with the gun concern, but officials investigated and then followed up with Jones’ roommate.
Longo also said Jones had been involved in a “kind of hazing” investigation. He said he did not have all the facts and circumstances of that case, although he said the investigation was closed after witnesses failed to cooperate.