CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA: Prosecutors have upgraded the charges against Christopher Darnell Jones Jr, the man accused of shooting dead three University of Virginia football players and injuring two others on November 13, 2022.
On Friday, September 8, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingeley announced that a special grand jury in Charlottesville had brought 13 new charges against Jones on Wednesday, September 6.
Who is Christopher Darnell Jones Jr?
Jones, 23, was a former UVA student and football player when he allegedly opened fire on a charter bus.
The bus had brought back students from a field trip to see a play in Washington, DC, on November 14, 2022. He was arrested after a long manhunt of 12 hours 80 miles from campus in Henrico County.
The victims were Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis J, and D’Sean Perry, all members of the UVA football team.
Another player, Mike Hollins, and a student, Marlee Morgan, were wounded in the shooting.
Jones, who briefly played on U-Va.’s football team in 2018, had joined about 25 other students on a school trip to Washington that day where the group watched a play and ate together.
When the students returned to campus, Jones allegedly opened fire and killed them for unknown reasons.
What were the previous charges against Christopher Darnell?
Jones was initially charged with second-degree murder after his arrest.
The new indictments charge Jones with six counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, and five counts of unlawful use or display of a firearm in committing a felony.
One indictment each for the killing of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr, and D’Sean Perry charges the “willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person as a part of the same act or transaction,” reports NBC 29.
What are the most serious charges in Virginia?
Aggravated murder is the most serious murder charge in Virginia after the state abolished the death penalty in 2021.
It carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
Hingeley said, "These alternate theories of guilt with different elements give the commonwealth the widest latitude in presenting evidence."
He, however, added, "But ultimately the commonwealth is seeking three convictions of aggravated murder, not six."
"First-degree murder, defined as any willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing (18.2-32), is a lesser included offence of aggravated murder,” Hingeley continued, as per the report.
Where is Christopher Darnell Jones Jr being held?
Jones is being held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
His next court appearance is scheduled for October 6.
Liz Murtagh, the public defender appointed to represent Jones, said she is “sorry the prosecutor chose to go this route” but declined to further comment.
