LOUISA COUNTY, Va. — A Louisa County jury today convicted Gregory Veres of 1st degree murder and felony Hit and Run for the murder of his girlfriend in September 2017.
“This is a tragic case where the Defendant killed his girlfriend and treated her worse than a dog. He killed her in the middle of the night and left her alone, cold, and in the dark, on the side of the road,” Louisa’s Commonwealth Attorney Rusty E. McGuire said.
According to court documents, Veres and his girlfriend were in an argument over a restraining order when she left him to walk home. Veres then followed her and drove all four wheels of his grandmother’s car off the road, hitting her while going 60 mph. According to witnesses, he struck her so hard that the car’s grill left an imprint on her leg.
In court, Veres took the stand and testified it was an accident, suggesting that he was too drunk to know what he was doing. However, The Commonwealth called Dr. Jim Hutchings who works for the Department of Forensic Science, who refuted the claims.
In closing argument McGuire and co-counsel Robert Wood argued “the defendant’s changing of his clothes from a bright fluorescent shirt to a dark sweatshirt before he killed the victim, coupled with his aggressive driving, demonstrated a premeditated intent to kill.”
We are the thankful of the professional and thorough work of the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police, the Central Virginia Regional Jail, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the Department of Forensic Science, for bringing justice in a Louisa courtroom,” Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Wood said.
The jury has recommended the maximum sentence of life plus 10 years in prison. Veres is scheduled to be formally sentenced on March 25, 2019 at 9:30 a.m.
