Accused shooter pleads guilty in 3 deaths on Grounds
The former student accused of fatally shooting UVA football players Devin Chandler (Col class of ’24), Lavel Davis Jr. (Col class of ’24) and D’Sean Perry (Col class of ’23) pleaded guilty to three charges of first-degree murder in a court hearing Nov. 20.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. (Col class of ’22) also pleaded guilty in Albemarle County Circuit Court to two charges of aggravated malicious wounding and five firearms charges in connection with the shooting, which took place the night of Nov. 13, 2022, as a bus returned to Grounds from a class field trip to Washington, D.C. The shooting also wounded students Mike Hollins (Col class of ’23) and Marlee Morgan (Col class of ’25).
Jones, 25, was to be tried in January on charges including aggravated murder, which would have carried mandatory sentences of life without parole if he had been convicted. The charges of first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding each carry a term of 20 years to life. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for early February.
“Today’s proceedings represent another step in a lengthy and painful journey for the families of the victims and for our community,” UVA President James E. Ryan (Law class of ’92) said in a statement. “We continue to grieve the loss of three beloved members of our community and the injuries suffered by others on the bus.”
A week before Jones’ plea, UVA marked the two-year anniversary of the shooting with the playing of “Amazing Grace” and the tolling of bells at the University Chapel. Students later gathered on the South Lawn to remember three lives cut short.
The shooting stunned the community and left many unanswered questions, chief among them what drove the gunman to kill. Though Jones’ motive remains unclear, prosecutors revealed new details of his behavior in a proffer that was read at the hearing and obtained by Virginia Magazine.
Jones was briefly a member of the football team but not at the same time as Chandler, Davis or Perry, and there was no indication he knew any of the players before the trip, prosecutors wrote. And other than a brief conversation between Jones and Davis just before the shooting, prosecutors said they found no evidence that Jones had interacted with the young men during the trip.
Among other details, prosecutors described cryptic text messages sent by Jones. He sent one to his younger brother that day suggesting something might happen and to other family members telling them he loved them. That evening he texted a mentor saying “this entire trip these boys have been (messing) wit me… tonight I’m either going to hell or jail. I’m sorry.” He later texted him, “they not getting off this bus.”
After shooting Chandler, Davis, Perry, Hollins and Morgan, Jones fled. He was arrested about 12 hours later in Henrico County, Virginia.
Four days after the shooting, UVA asked Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares to appoint special counsel to conduct an outside review of what happened before and after the shooting. Miyares appointed two teams, and they completed their report in October 2023.
Miyares and UVA initially said attorney-client privilege prevented them from sharing the report. UVA later said it would release the report after the conclusion of criminal proceedings against Jones.
Following Jones’s guilty plea, UVA said it will release the report once sentencing is completed.
UVA agreed in mediation to pay $9 million in settlements—$2 million each to the families of Chandler, Davis and Perry and $3 million total to Hollins and Morgan, the maximum allowed under the commonwealth’s risk management plan.
