Former Virginia student, 25, pleads guilty to killing three football players after chilling details revealed

A former University of Virginia football player who fatally shot three Cavaliers players and wounded two other students in 2022 has pleaded guilty in the case as prosecutors finally began shedding light on his motive in the triple murder.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 25, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding and five counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. A four-day sentencing hearing will begin Feb. 4 in Albemarle County District Court.

On Wednesday, prosecutors read in court a summary of what they say happened on the day of the shooting, including chilling details not previously released publicly. Authorities said Jones opened fire aboard a charter bus as he and other students returned to campus after watching a play and dining together in Washington, D.C.

Hours before the shooting, Jones was riding a bus and texted an adult mentor he had known for several years and declared, “I’m either going to hell or jail tonight.” I’m very sorry,” the summary reads. The Associated Press obtained a draft summary.

Football players Lavel Davis Jr., D’Shawn Perry and Devin Chandler were killed, and a fourth team member, Mike Hollins, and another student, Marlee Morgan, were wounded. According to the prosecutor’s draft report, Jones’ time on the team did not coincide with the time he shot the players. And there was no indication that Jones and the players knew each other or were communicating until a short time before the shooting.

A witness previously told police that Jones was targeting specific victims.

The report read by prosecutors said one student told authorities that on the bus ride back to campus, he heard Jones talking quietly to himself, saying, among other things, “I’m sorry if I offended you.” I didn’t mean to offend you,” “I’ve been through so much in my life,” and “I don’t have a gun.”

Prosecutors said Jones became irritable after the players arrived at the start of the trip. Jones also sat alone at the performance and on the way home.

The woman, who had previously rejected Jones romantically, swapped phone numbers with Chandler, one of the men who was later killed, prosecutors said.

Before the shooting, Jones told his adult mentor in a text message: “Just tell my story.” I was a good guy and I never intended or initiated harm to anyone,” prosecutors also said.

In his last message, Jones typed: “They’re not getting off that bus.”

Jones also wrote to several family members, including his mother, to tell them he loved them, prosecutors said. He also told his little brother that something might happen, adding a siren emoji.

During the riot, Jones “methodically checked every seat until he reached the back of the bus” to shoot some of his victims, the summary said.

Disturbingly, Jones asked one of the players about a video game just before he started shooting, a family friend of one of the two surviving victims told Sports Illustrated in 2022.

“They were on a field trip to see a play (in Washington, D.C.) and when they got home on the bus they stopped by the garage,” said Gordon McKernan, a longtime family friend of running back Mike Hollins.

“The suspect… he was asking one of the football players about a video game,” McKernan said, witnesses told the family. “The guy responded and at that point he pulled out a gun and started shooting.

“Those on board believed he was targeting the footballers.”

The shooting happened near a parking garage and led to a 12-hour lockdown on the Charlottesville campus until the suspect was caught. Many at the school of about 23,000 students huddled in closets and darkened dorm rooms, while others barricaded the doors of the university’s stately academic buildings.

Jones was scheduled to go to trial in January on charges including aggravated murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole in Virginia. The first-degree murder charges to which he pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with prosecutors carry a prison sentence of 20 years to life in prison.

The university, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, also experienced a violent “Unite the Right” rally in 2017 that drew hundreds of white nationalists protesting the planned removal of a Confederate statue. A car crashed into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one person and injuring several others.

University President Jim Ryan said Jones’ guilty plea represents “another step on a long and painful journey for the victims’ families and for our community.”

“We continue to mourn the loss of three beloved members of our community and the injuries suffered by others on the bus,” Ryan said in a statement.

In the days after the shooting, university officials requested an external review to examine the school’s security policies and procedures, its response to the violence and previous efforts to assess the potential threat posed by the accused student. School officials acknowledged that Jones had previously been on the radar of the university’s threat assessment team.

In June, Kimberly Wald, an attorney representing some of the victims and their families, announced that the university had agreed to pay $9 million in compensation. Wald said the university should have removed Jones from campus before the attack because he showed many red flags with his erratic and unstable behavior.

Attorney Michael Haggard, who represented the families of three of the five shooting victims in the civil case, said they initially opposed the plea agreement because they wanted Jones to stand trial and receive the maximum possible sentence for aggravated murder charges that would lead to life without possibility of parole.

“It was difficult for them. They would like more, but they are looking forward to the verdict. They want life in prison,” Haggard said.

Haggard said the families were eagerly awaiting the release of the independent investigation’s report, adding: “They wanted a trial to find out more about what the hell happened.”

University officials said they delayed releasing the report last year because of concerns it could affect Jones’ trial. School officials said in a statement Wednesday that they plan to release him after his final sentencing in February.