Former UVA Football Player Sentenced to Five Life Terms for Killing His Three Teammates

A former University of Virginia student who opened fire on a charter bus in 2022, killing three football players and wounding two others, was sentenced Friday to five life sentences plus 23 additional years on related firearm charges.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 26, addressed the court and apologized for his actions before sentencing, prompting some victims’ families to leave the courtroom in protest. Jones pleaded guilty last year to the murders of D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr., and Devin Chandler, as well as two counts of aggravated malicious wounding and five counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Judge Cheryl Higgins delivered the maximum penalty — a life sentence for each of the five victims, including the two survivors.

Over several days of emotional testimony, prosecutors detailed the horrifying events of Nov. 13, 2022, when Jones opened fire aboard a bus carrying students back to campus after a class trip to Washington, D.C., to see a play about Emmett Till. The shooting erupted at approximately 10:15 p.m. in a campus parking garage, leaving a devastating impact on the UVA community.

Survivors Marlee Morgan, a track sprinter who was shot in the leg, and Mike Hollins, a running back wounded in the back, both recovered. Morgan went on to join the UVA track team, while Hollins made a triumphant return to the field in 2023, earning both the ACC Brian Piccolo Award and the FWAA Courage Award for his remarkable perseverance.

Jones had briefly been part of the Virginia football program in 2018 as a walk-on but never appeared in a game and eventually left the team, though he remained enrolled at the university.

The sentencing closes one of the darkest chapters in recent UVA history, but the legacy of the victims continues to resonate across the community.